Forest Lullaby
by Bloody Nikki
Summary: Melody Pine is a girl who talks to the dead and because of it much of her childhood was in and out of asylums. Now 16 and moving into Norman's home town, she'd ready to try living once more. Too bad that she's cursed and it's up to her and Norman to stop the curse before she joins the dead. Can they piece together the past before it's too late? Melody/Norman
1. Chapter 1

Note: When I started writing this, I thought it would be a one shot to setup the story I wanted to tell, but in the end it ran into the story I wanted to tell and so I am going with it. The chapters that follow will most likely he shorter. I hope you enjoy and such. review please if you can.

* * *

Melody Pine was born into an odd family. Her mother loved to flip houses and only lived in ones were people died. It didn't matter how old the house was or how those inside died. It only matter that someone had indeed past a way inside. Mr. Pine didn't much care for houses, as he did for the stories of the dead. He loved to write true crime novels and had done well on them. It was from those two people that Melody was born.

Melody never had any friends in school, but she never thought herself lonely. The homes her parents moved in were always filled with one or two beings willing to spend time with her. It had horrified her mother when she found out and made her father proud. After all, a daughter who could see and talk to the dead was an amazing gift to a true crime writer.

Hope Pine didn't understand her husband. She was even more at a loss as what to do with her child. The girl was talking to people that weren't there. It was all well and good to have imagined friends, but it was wrong when they were all dead. Hope's husband, Ben, said that they should move into a house untouched by death. Hope would not have it. She needed a home well lived in.

Melody Pine was born into an odd family and because of that her life was filled with nightmares.

Xxx

"Aaaaaa." A six year old Melody screamed out as she shut her eyes as tight as she could. She was pushed up against the wall in horror. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die. "Please... don't hurt me." She screamed in the middle of the night.

"I want to eat you." The being in front of her laughed out as his claws reached out for her leg. It pulled her closer to it and she cried harder. Her legs started bleeding.

"Daddy!" She yelled out. "Save me!"

The monster laughed as it pulled Melody closer to its mouth. The teeth were nasty, shape looking things. It's face had all kinds of cuts and weird shapes. Melody couldn't help it. She knew her mother had told her to stop screaming in the middle of the night, but the child needed help.

Melody rolled over onto her stomach and dug her nails into the floorboards. As the monster pulled her closer to its mouth, Melody left marks in the floor, breaking her nails. She screamed in fear and pain. Her finger tips were bleeding.

"Melody! Melody!" Ben yelled as he broke down the door to her room. He rushed towards his child and picked her up. The monster faded a way with a dark chuckle. He promised to come back for her. It missed the taste of children and wanted so much to eat her.

"Daddy!" She sobbed as he cruddled her in his arms. Her mother came rushing in and stared at her daughter in horror.

"What did you do to yourself?" Hope asked her child as she ripped the girl out of Ben's arms.

"Nothing! It was the monster!" Melody explained in panic. "He's trying to eat me!"

"Enough lies!" Hope screamed.

"Hope! Leave her alone!" Ben yelled as he reached for his child.

"We can't have her lying all the time."

"But I'm not. The red faced monster wants to eat me." Melody cried as she looked to her mother. She wanted her mother to believe her. She need her mother to believe her. Why didn't her mother believe her? It was clear that her daddy believed her.

Xxx

Melody was eight when her mother finally had enough. Her father had just past a way and her mother couldn't take Melody's screams of terror. Melody didn't understand why her mother was taking her to a hospital. She didn't feel sick and she hadn't hurt herself. Hope Pine told the doctors that her daughter was crazy. That Melody was hurting herself and that she kept saying she saw things that weren't there. Melody tried to explain that she wasn't crazy, but no one listened. No one believed the little girl. No one believed her, but the ghosts that haunted the old asylum.

Xxx

Melody was locked in a padded room with her arms tied up. The doctors had said that she was a high risk patient. They claimed that the deep cuts on her arms and legs were self inflected. She had tried to tell them that she didn't do it. The ghost of long dead patients had done them. She yelled and screamed it, but no one believed her. No one ever believed her. In the end, they drugged her and left her to the monsters.

Xxx

Melody was ten years old when she was able to go home. She was a cold and distance child. She didn't want to play with other children or speak to her mother. She had learned to keep to herself. It was in keeping to herself that she was able to be free. Melody Pine watched the world pass her by and promised herself that she would only trust her books. Books were the only thing she was sure were real. She couldn't trust her ears or eyes.

"Melody?" Her mother asked as she stepped into her daughter's room.

"Yes," Melody said in a dead tone. She glanced at her mother from her book and saw a spirit of a burned woman. She snapped her eyes back to her book. If she acted like she didn't it, than it didn't happen.

"Why don't you go out and play?" Hope tried to smile, but couldn't keep it on her face.

"I'd rather read." Melody stated. "It's better this way." She grabbed her headphones when the burned woman started to talk to her. "I'm going to listen to music now." She didn't wait to hear her mother. She needed to drown the dead out.

Xxx

Two years later, Melody is in a new house and locked in the bathroom. She's rocking back and forth as she chants 'It's not real. It's not real.' because ghosts aren't real. She knows that by now. She's just delusional and crazy. The drugs aren't working. She's tried a number of different pills, but nothing has been working. She's so screamed of going back to the hospital that she's crying.

"Honey." Hope whispered as she tried to open the door. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Go away!" Melody screamed in a rage. "Go A WAY! YOU'RE NOT REAL!" She screamed out without thinking. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Melody yelled out as she starts to hit her head against the wall. She slammed it harder and harder. If she passes out, she won't be able to hear the voices. She won't be able to see the bloody women who died in the house. She hated when they lived in the former homes of serial killers. They had the worst ghosts... no delusions. She corrected herself, because ghosts weren't real and this was all in her head.

Melody doesn't know how long she was in the bathroom before two officers break down the door, but she knew from the look on her mother's face that she would be going back to an asylum. Melody didn't want to go back. She didn't want to go back to the padded rooms and being tied to a bed. She won't let the officers take her. She screamed and yelled at them to leave her alone.

"NO! DON'T! NOOOOO! PLEASE! DON"T!" Melody screamed as she fought hard to stay in the bathroom. She fought hard, but they were stronger than her. She recalls her mother sobbing. "PLEASE! MOMMY!" She wanted her mother to tell them to leave her alone, but Hope does nothing. She's so sick and tired of everything. She can't stand to take another moment of her child. Hope cursed herself for being glad that her daughter would be taken from her. She shouldn't want her little girl to be locked a way so much.

Xxx

Melody confused her doctors at the hospital. They all saw her as a person who understood her problems and was fighting to get better. But she cut herself and did other things to herself every other day. Melody wouldn't answer them when they asked her why. She would meekly whisper that she let the delusions win for the moment and that she would fight harder.

One of her doctors placed cameras in her room. He wanted to see how Melody behaved during her fits of self harm. Whatever he saw horrified him. He wouldn't look her in the eyes when he said he was leaving. He kept saying sorry though, which confused her greatly. Melody never saw him again, but she heard from one of the nurses that he went crazy. The poor doctor was in a hospital screaming that ghosts were real. Melody felt badly about this and told one of the other doctors about how she felt. That doctor too soon left. The doctor become a priest and thanked Hope for the gift that was her daughter.

"You're daughter showed me the truth." The former doctor stated with a smile. "I now see that I was wrong about everything. Good luck to you and her."

Hope didn't understand what was going on, but she changed her daughter's hospital the next morning. Melody felt glad about the change. She hoped that a new hospital would mean a break from the delusions she had been having.

Xxx

Melody Pine was fourteen and in middle school, like a normal child. She had a breakthrough her newest doctor had stated. Melody didn't think so, but she had learned to hide her feelings. She had also learned to lie well. She was working well in the classroom her teachers remarked and Hope thought that maybe things were getting better. He daughter still didn't have any friends, but Melody at least wasn't seeing things.

Melody had made a slip up though. It was close to the end of the school year when in passing she told another student that there were bodies buried in the playground. Melody hadn't meant to let the delusions win. She hadn't meant to listen to the so called spirits. It had just happened. The teachers asked her why she had said such a thing and she was honest about the issue. She didn't know why she had let it slip. She had just felt the need to tell someone.

The police didn't think Melody was joking and dug up the playground. To the shock and horror of everyone, there were bodies buried there. Melody was asked how she knew by an officer. She answered simply that she had saw the little girl in the blue dress with golden hair play near there often enough to know that she either died there or was buried there. The officer didn't seem to believe her and thought that she may have had something to do with the deaths. He had changed his mind when he found out that the bodies were twenty years old.

Hope took her daughter out of that school as soon as the police were done questioning her. It was for the best. Melody was being bullied because of the event. But to be honest, Melody thought the change was more for her mother than herself. It was with great fear that Hope wondered if in fact her daughter could see the dead.

Xxx

"Do you have anything to say Melody?" A Dr. Clark asked as she studied a now fifteen year old girl. Melody was in no mood to talk. She wanted to go home, but was stuck in yet another asylum. It hadn't been her fault this time. She hadn't been to blame. She hadn't had an episode or any delusional attacks.

"My mother hates me." Melody stated out loud for the first time in her life. "I don't belong here...at least not now. I didn't do anything to get in here." Melody felt betrayed by being locked up. She couldn't believe what her mother had done to her.

"Your mother says that you tried to burn your home down. That you said that you were releasing the spirits inside of it." Dr. Clark stated with a sigh. "That sounds like an delusional episode to me."

"That didn't happen." Melody shouted. It was the truth, but her doctor didn't believe her. No one did. It was too hard to take her word on the matter. To them it didn't make sense. Why would a mother lie about this?

"Melody, you have to be honest with me." Dr. Clark was almost to the point of rage.

"I'm trying to be." Melody hissed out. "But you won't listen."

"You think that your mother made up the whole thing because she believes that you can talk to the dead." Dr. Clark stated with a frown.

"Yes! She can't explain everything a way. That freaks her out and so she put me in here."

"That is not the case." Dr. Clark stood up. Her long hair covered her face so Melody wasn't sure how made the good doctor was. "I think we should end our time now. We can talk again when you are ready to be honest with me."

"Whatever." Melody said as she rushed out of the room. Melody often forgot that she was insane and no one believed crazy people.

Xxx

"Dr. Clark." Melody whispered as she waited for the woman to finish writing her notes. Melody was getting that feeling again. The need to tell someone about a spirit that she kept seeing. It was wrong of her, but Melody couldn't help feel sick from keeping it in.

"Yes, Melody." The doctor sighed out.

"I am sorry for your sister." Melody whispered as she stared out the window. "She was far too young to die."

"That's disgusting!" Dr. Clark yelled out. "How dare you bring her up and say she's dead." The woman felt outraged.

"Her head was smashed in by her boyfriend. She hasn't been dead long, but she wants to say that she's sorry that she didn't listen to you." Melody stated as she stood up and walked to the door. "Tattoo boy and her could be nothing more than chaos. He didn't know how to love her in any way that wouldn't hurt her. She should have listened. That's what she said to me." Melody left the room after that. Dr. Clark was going to report the child, but was stopped by a phone call.

"Hello! Dr. Clark speaking!" She tried to relax. "What is the subject of this call?"

"I'm sorry Miss. Clark." The man on the phone stated. He sounded sad. "I have something to say about your sister."

"Kathy?" Dr. Clark questioned in panic. "What happened? Is she in jail again?"

"I'm sorry." The man restated. "Miss Kathy Clark past a way last night."

"What do you mean? Past away? She's died?"

"Yes," The man answered.

"How?" Dr. Clark choked out.

"Her boyfriend killed her by mistake. They were fighting and his rage get the best of him."

"Oh." Dr. Clark thought about what Melody had just said. "He slammed her head in?"

"Why yes." The man sounded shocked that she knew that. "How did you know?"

"My sister said she feared he would do that one day." She lied. "I'm sorry. Can you call me back. I can't..."

"Yes, of course." The man stated. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Thank you please." Dr. Clark wasn't sure what to think.

Xxx

"How did you know?" Dr. Clark asked as she pulled Melody out of the pill line.

"Know what?" Melody asked. She didn't know what was going on.

"About my sister."

"I most have heard it from the nurses." Melody replied. "One of them most have brought her up and the abuse." It sounded reasonable enough. Dr. Clark wanted to correct the child and tell her that was not what she was asking, but changed her mind. It was best not to bring the matter up. After all it could be nothing more than a joke.

"Well, as long as we're clear that what you saw or heard wasn't real."

"Trust me." Melody promised. "I know that they are never real."

xxx

Melody screamed as loud as her lungs would let her. She was in so much pain. She felt like someone was cutting her apart. She fought to pull herself out of bed, but she couldn't Because She kept hurting herself, she was tied into bed every night. Something felt warm and sticky around her belly

"Aaaaaa!" One of the nurses screamed after opening the door. "Aaaaaa!"

"Aaaa!" Melody screamed. "Make it stop! It hurts!"

The sight was too much for the young nurse. Melody was covered in deep cuts. There was blood everywhere. The nurse could only scream in horror. Her body frozen in shock. The other members of the staff rushed to help Melody. Many of them had seen such attacks before. They didn't care much for Melody. They knew what the doctors, her mother and Melody did not. The girl was not as crazy as she appeared.

It would have been nice for Melody if one of the staff told her that she wasn't crazy, that her injuries weren't self done. The staff feared the girl too much to bring the matter up. They rather ignore the child than let out the nightmare that was the truth.

Xxx

"Why did you do it?" Dr. Clark asked as she watched Melody.

"I didn't even know that I was." Melody cried. "I thought I was getting better. I wanted to get better."

"I know." Dr. Clark stated with a frown.

"Is there anything you can give me? Something new?" Melody really wanted to be free of her delusions. She wanted to live a normal life. Maybe her mother was right to lock her away.

"Melody, drugs are not the only answer." Dr. Clark stated. She was worried for the young girl. After a long pause, the doctor did something that shock her."Melody, have you had any... of your ghosts haunting you?"

"My ghosts?" The teenager was surprised by the question. "I have had issues with a boy named Sam. He is mad at me because I can see him and I ignore him."

"Would he hurt you?"

"I don't see why that matters." The girl replied.

"Would he hurt you?"

"Yes, if he were real he would hurt me." Melody stated. "But he isn't real and can't hurt me."

"Yes, of course he can't." Dr. Clark agreed, though a part of her wasn't sure.

Xxx

"Happy Birthday Melody Pine." One of the nurses said as she untied the girl.

"Thank you." The girl replied as she sat up. "Did my mother call? Will she be coming?"

"I don't know." The nurse said. "But I think she will."

"Hmmm."

"Happy sixteenth birthday." The nurse said before leaving.

"Yea, whatever." Melody stated as she moved to look out the window. She felt eyes watching her. She turned to see the Mother Ghost, a term Melody used when she talked about this ghost. Mother Ghost was a woman that looked like a mom and she treated all the ghosts, even the worst ones, as though they were her children. Mother Ghost never talked to Melody. Mother Ghost never bothered with the living.

"Hello, Melody Pine." Mother Ghost smiled out.

"Have I past away in my sleep?" Melody asked as she watched Mother Ghost.

"No child. I promise you are living."

"Why come talk to me?" Melody laughed. "You never gave me notice before."

"I don't try to talk to the living because I know they don't listen."

"I'm living and I don't really listen to ghosts."

"But your worth the try." Mother Ghost said as she closed the door behind her. She moved to the bed and sat down. "Come sit with me. I have not talked to someone of your kind in many years."

"My kind?" Melody didn't understand. She took a seat next to the ghost and wanted for her to explain.

"You are special. Not for seeing ghosts, but for the strength to stay sane when everyone crushes you down. But that does not mark you as a different kind of person. You are marked by the birthmark on your hip area. I saw it during your shower, while I was speaking to one of my children." She meant ghost.

"Why do you call them your children?"

"Because I lost all mine when my husband put me here and my follow ghosts need a mother as much as I need someone to care for."

"I guess that since this is a place for the insane it is too much to ask that you see how mad that idea is." Melody chuckled.

"Now, ask me about the mark." Mother Ghost stated. "It's important."

"What was this mark you saw?" Melody laughed as she straightened up and moved put her legs on the bed.

"It is the mark of the Willow Witch."

"The what?" Melody asked in confusion.

"It is a story that I once heard as a child and about the time of my death." Mother Ghost smiled softly and patted her hand onto the living girl. "It is why ghosts attack you."

"I thought the ghosts attack me because they don't like me or are killers." Melody stated. "They would attack anyone if they could."

"But you are special." Mother Ghost stated. "You walk the line between the worlds."

"I do not understand." Melody explained with a sigh. "You confuse me."

"Listen and understand."

_Long ago, in the days long past, there was a small village. The times were hard and the land unforgiving to those from foreign lands. It was the time of Puritan and their hardship made them fearful of all things different and strange._

_ It was during this time that a young man was to marry a woman of his village. It is not sure how he felt about this female, but they made the promise to wed in one months time. This young man, by the name of John Hawk, was a merchant by trade and often left the village to do business and trade. He felt his bride to be in order to win a new area to trade in. It was in this new town that he meant a woman the locals called the Willow Witch. _

_ The Willow Witch was a woman who lived under a large willow tree. Under the branches of this willow tree nothing grow, but the woman. She had lived there since girlhood and it was said that the tree held unnatural powers that it blessed the child that lived with it. The Willow Witch was respect by the towns people, even though she was a witch. She spent all her days helping the towns people and always gave them kindness even when they cursed her. It was her good heart and the fact that the town always did well that made see her goodness. They loved her and she loved them._

_ Now, John did not know that the town had a witch. It was a secret that they kept in order to keep her safe. When John met the Willow Witch, he was amazed by her beauty and kindness. He watched in wonder as she healed, blessed, and took care of anyone that she past. He asked the towns people about her and of her state of marriage. The towns people were displeased by the questions._

_ John was informed that the woman was called Willow and that she never gave them a name. That she lived outside of town and that the people believed her to be a witch. They warned John that she had remarked that she was cursed to be with no man or face sorrow. John did not believe in curses or witches and went to find the witch._

_ The Willow Witch was with her tree and was upset at the sight of the man. He asked for her hand and she turned him a way. She told him that if she holds the heart of a man great harm would come her way. Her tree had showed her that future when she was a child. She told when that she would have no part of him in her life and sent him a way. _

_ John left the witch with a broken heart. The Willow Witch felt that she was safe now that the man had left the town. She had thought she changed her fate, but that was far from the case._

_ John had gone home and called off the wedding. He declared he could not marry someone that he did not love. He was questioned endlessly as to why he had ended the up coming marriage. It was __not long before he told the reason why and his form bride to planned revenge on the woman who took her groom to be. She told all that would hear about the witch that stole his heart. She used the word witch as often as she could and said that even her own people called her that. It did not take long before people started to cry out for the Willow Witch to burn._

_ They came for her in the night and forced her back to their village. They tied her to a pole in the center of town and, with a hot iron, burned the image of the willow tree onto her hip. The Willow Witch cried out to all that could hear her for help. She begged the spirits to bring her death and end her pain as the villagers made her suffer. The spirits did not seem to be listening. The Willow Witch cried harder and used her powers to make the spirits listen to her. She made her soul seem like a treat for them to eat. She hoped that it would make them take her life. The spirits at last seemed to wish to help her._

_ John, who did not know of that the Willow Witch was taken, watched in horror as the people he knew started to burn her alive at the stake. He watched her cry and beg for a fast and swift death. She begged for mercy. At the moment when the spirits were about to end her life, John stab her through the heart. He killed her out of love and to end her pain. He did not know that by killing her before the spirits could he had cursed her soul. She would be reborn with a soul that many spirits would want to eat. _

"Is there no way to save her? To end her curse?" Melody asked.

"There is a way. John Hawk found about the curse and the way to fix it from the great willow tree when he returned to it. He could not face his family and friends after the death of the Willow Witch and moved to live under her tree. The tree showed him that his love was not in peace and how to help her."

"How can he help her?" Melody asked in awe.

"I do not know. He took that answer to his grave and into all the lives he lived through after that. He has the answers to how to break that curse." Mother Ghost replied.

"You think that I am this Willow Witch?" The teenager asked.

"I know that you are this witch. You have her mark on you and the ghosts seek your blood."

"That doesn't mean that I am her." Melody stated.

"I tell you this to warn you. If you believe or not, I do not care. Just know this tale." With that said Mother Ghost left the girl alone.

Xxx

"I want to leave." Melody stated with a sigh. "There have been no attacks and you said I'm doing well. I want to get out of here."

"I understand." Dr. Clark stated. "I will see what I can do."

Melody turned to watch Mother Ghost talk to a child ghost. Melody had ignored all ghosts and made them seem that she had lost the ability to hear or see them. It had been a hard task, but she had done it. The fact that they believed that she could no longer see them made them leave her alone. The teenager was worried that she would be unable to hide her powers any longer. She need to leave before she slipped.

Xxx

Hope looked at her daughter shocked to see how much she had grown during her stay. Melody walked to the car holding her bag close to her body. All she owned fit into her small bag. All the clothes she had brought with her no longer fit and all that she grew up with she couldn't take. Melody thought about what it would feel like to own things and be able to sleep in an unlocked room. She wasn't sure how she would feel or think on the outside. Hope smiled at Melody. The smile was not returned.

"Where are we living now?" Melody asked as she got into the car. She belted in and waited for her mother to enter.

"A place called Blithe Hollow. It's in Massachusetts." Hope said with a smile. "The house is going to need a lot of work."

"A lot of deaths there?" Melody knew her mother loved a house were people died.

"Not many. The last person to die was a heart attack." Hope sounded sad. "But it's close to the graveyard."

"Oh, how nice." Melody said with a sigh. "Wake me when he get there."

xxx

"Hey, Norman." Neil called out as he rushed to his friend. Norman smiled as he waited for Neil to join him. Although they were both sixteen, Norman knew that they both hadn't changed that much. Neil was still Neil and Norman was still the crazy kid that talked to ghosts. The only thing that changed since the witch was that they looked a little different. Norman a bit more than Neil.

"Hey Neil." Norman waved as he waited for his friend to regain his breath.

"We have a new classmate coming!" Neil yelled out with a smile.

"Really, that sounds great." Norman lied. He didn't really care.

"Yea, she's moving into your uncle's old house." Neil went on. "I heard from my mom that the girls crazy and stuff. That she spent a number of years locked in the nut house."

"How'd she hear that?" Norman asked. It was mostly a lie.

"From the girls mom." Neil stated. "She told my mom that her daughter was in the asylum for trying to hurt herself."

"Oh...well..." Norman couldn't seem to think of something to say.

"Yea," A female voice agreed behind them. "I heard that she was screaming about how the ghosts were trying to kill her or talk her into killing herself. They had to break down the bathroom door to stop her from slamming her head against the wall." The woman said as she walked to the two.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?" Norman asked as he eyed her. She seemed like someone he knew, but he didn't know from where.

"I know you don't." She said as she stopped in front of them. "I'm Melody Pine." The female stated as Norman looked her over. She had long legs that were cut off by a tight black skirt. She wore an equally tight red top that matched her red high heels. Her hair was pulled up showing off her earrings and neckline. Her earrings were small skulls and her necklace was a simple locket. Norman thought the teenager in front of her was beautiful.

"Your the new girl." Neil stated with wide eyes. He than recalled that he had been talking about her and flushed red.

"Whatever you said, I don't care." Melody stated. "I've heard worse."

"So can you?" Norman asked as he eyed her.

"Can I what?" Melody asked eying him right back.

"Can you talk to ghosts?" Neil asked. "Norman can. He talks to them all the time."

"Do you now?" Melody smirked. "Well, I guess I'll have to see if that's true." The girl started walking a way.

"Hey, you never answered the question." Neil yelled.

"You'll have to see for yourself if I can or not." Melody called back as she kept walking forward. "See you at school." Melody said as she walked on. She didn't care what they thought of her. She had two more years to live with her mother and than she would be free. The girl paused and turned to glance at Norman. She wondered if they had met in the asylum. He looked like someone that she knew. She shook her head at the thought. That was silly. She had never met anyone that shared her delusions and so reasoned that this was her first meeting with Norman.

He was kinda cute Melody thought to herself as she smiled. She thought of all the things they could do together, but first she needed to get that book Mother Ghost told her about. That was the important thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: I want to thank everyone that has been reading. It means a lot to me. I am loving that you all are enjoying the first chapter and give you the second one now. R&R

* * *

Melody smiled as she walked towards the man behind the desk. She did a quick study and thought of the best way to get what she wanted. She had learned the art of lying and control from a ghost when she was younger. He was a former doctor that played a bit too much with the nurses. The sight of what one of nurses did to him always made Melody want to throw up, but he was a good man to her. He taught her how to lie the right way and the tricks to fool people into thinking she was sane.

"Hello." Melody smiled brighter as she stood before the desk.

"What do you what?" The man asked without looking up.

"Well, I know this is silly, but does there happen to be an older church near town. I only ask because the one in town seems too new to be the original church and it's very far from the graveyard."

"Yes, it isn't the original church." The man, in his mid-thirties, looked up from his work. He eyed Melody and she understood what his look was saying. He didn't like her state of dress and was about to write her off.

"Could you tell me where the original one is?" Melody rushed out. "I would love to add its photo to my booklet." Melody pulled out her phone and pulled up her pictures. "See. My mother and I move around a lot and when I move to a new town, I take a photo of their church. I find that while most towns seem alike the churches always have something different." The man took the girls phone and looked over at the images.

"This church," He pointed one at. "Is that the one in-"

"In Sir Benfield?" Melody asked. She nodded her head with a big smile. "Yes, it is. I love that church. It has a beautiful tower that overlooks their lake."

"Yes, I know I lived there." The man stated with a smile. He handed her phone back to her and smiled at her. "Is that the only photo you have of the town?"

"I have a few more." Melody stated as she looked over her photos. "I would need to check my computer."

"Understandable." The man said with a nod. "Now about your church."

"Yes?" The teenager seemed more than happy to listen.

"I have a basic idea of where it is." The man said as he took out a piece of paper. "I can draw you general map to it. I doubt that anyone in town would even know that there was another church."

"Shame. Those old churches are breathtaking." Melody sighed out.

"Aren't they?" The man smiled as he drew her the map. "Please, if you find any photos-"

"I will be sure to show them to you." Melody promised as she took the map. "Thank you."

xxx

"Hey, Grandma." Norman greeted as he entered his home. He threw his bag onto the floor and walked to the fridge. His parents were busy working or doing church work. Norman looked about the kitchen to see if his sister had left a note. She had yet to move out and was going to college part time. Norman had no idea what she did in between her classes and the time she slept, but she rarely stayed home.

"Hello dear." His grandma greeted him. "How was your day?"

"It was good." Norman said as he opened a can of soda. "There's a new girl in town."

"Is she pretty?" The old woman asked.

"Yea, but she's a bit rude." Norman answered.

"Rude. What did she do?" His grandma asked.

"It's the why she talks more than what she said." Norman paused to think over what he knew of the girl. "But I guess she never had a lot of social interactions."

"Oh?"

"She's been to a number of mental institutions." The teen male went on. "It's not a rumor either. She even said that she spent time there."

"Aw, did she say what for?"

"She said...while implied that it was because she talked to ghosts." Norman stated.

"Can she?" Grandma asked in shock.

"She never said yes or no. She just said that I would have to find out."

"Hmmm, what's her name?" Grandma floated towards the living room door.

"Melody Pine." Norman stated and watched as his grandmother turned to look at him.

"Is she the child of that true crime writer?

"I have no idea. Why do you ask?" Norman didn't understand.

"Because... he stopped by this town once. He was a good man... heard he past on. Wonder if he kept around for his daughter."

"I didn't see any ghost around her that could be her father."

"Did you talk with him?" Norman asked.

"Only for a little." His grandmother replied. "He asked me strange things...about our witch's curse. He seemed unhappy with the answers."

"What did he ask?" Norman tried to recall the story that he has been told as a child. It was mostly full of lies and half truths. He could understand why the man would be unhappy. It must have been upsetting for a true crime writer to be unable to find facts or truth.

"He asked her age and if there was a man in the story. What were her crimes and so on. He seemed to be looking for the town were some story he heard came from."

"And it wasn't this town?" Norman wondered what the man had been looking for.

"No, he seemed to think it was another town. He past a way soon after."

"Did he say what he was looking for?"

"No, I don't believe he did."

xxx

Melody sat during lunch looking over a small map. She hid it in her textbook and glanced up every few moments to see if anyone was looking at her. She was overly worried about other students coming to talk to her. So far none of her classmates went to talk to her. It would seem that her sharp words, when the teacher had asked her to speak, made it clear that she wanted no one to bother her.

"My name is Melody Pine and I don't care about any of you. Don't talk to me or touch me. If you do, I'll break your arm...or worse." The teacher had been shocked by the way she had said those words. Melody was sent to the office and chewed out for being honest. Melody had replied that it was important that everyone understood that she wanted to be left alone. She stated that she was scared that if she got sick again that she would hurt people. She didn't want that to happen and started to form tears. She was let off with a warning and Melody hid the smirk from playing them for fools.

Melody studied the map in front of her and the drawing that half covered it. She needed to be sure of were she was going before she left exploring for something. Melody wondered for a brief moment if her father searching for information like she did. Melody placed a hand on her locket, the last thing her father gave her, and wondered what case he had last worked on. Hope had burned all his notes. It took all Melody had to keep her mother from taking her necklace.

"Hello there." A fat teen yelled as he sat across from her. Melody flipped her back shut and glared.

"Who said that you could sit there?" Melody snared out. She slid her back closer towards her and stuffed it into her backpack. It was a small bag with skulls covering it. Melody had found it in a thrift shop. Her mother disapproved of the bag, but let her daughter dress and keep what she liked. Hope had, after all, done more harm than good for her child.

"I thought that you could use a friend being new and all."

"I don't need friends." Melody stated as she turned to get up. She found herself blocked by Norman who was staring at her as though in deep thought. "What are you looking at?"

"Is your father that true crime writer?" Norman asked. The question had shocked the teen goth. No one had ever found out about her father and what he did.

"He did. But he doesn't anymore." Melody stated as Norman placed his tray of food next to her. He moved to sit next to her and Melody forced herself to turn to face the fat one. She didn't want to make a scene and be sent to the office again. It would look bad on her part and make everyone question her actions this morning. It was best to stay at her table.

"Because he died when you were little." Norman stated as he stared at his food.

"So, you googled my name." Melody huffed out. "Doesn't mean that you can talk to the dead."

"My grandmother said that he came to this town." Norman stated.

"Oh, and this is why you and the fat one cornered me, to talk about my dead father?"

"I'm not that fat." Neil stated with a frown.

"Sorry." Melody didn't sound sorry. "I don't know you name, just the ghost whisperer"

"His name is Neil." Norman stated. "And he doesn't like being teased about his weight."

"Hm," Melody glared at Norman. "And I don't like talking about my father or his work."

"I just thought it would be a good talking point." Norman stated as Neil watched the two and ate slowly.

"You thought telling me that my dead father came to this town was a good talking point?" Melody questioned with a mocking chuckle. "And to think that I'm the crazy one at this table." She sighed out as she looked at the clock.

"I guess I didn't think." Norman stated as he thought the matter over.

"No, I guess not." Melody stated as she stood up. "I have better things to do than talk about my father and his work."

"Why would he ask about witches?" Norman asked before the girl could leave the table.

"What?" Melody wasn't sure she heard right. Her mother said often that her father never dealt with the supernatural. He hated to even bring them up in fact based murders, or so Melody had been told.

"I asked-"

"I know what you asked." Melody stated as she hugged her bag. "I have no idea why my father would ask about witches. He dealt with murders. Maybe he wanted to write about historical ones for a change." Melody felt that wasn't the answer, but she didn't know any other one. She didn't really know her father.

"Maybe..." Norman replied as he let Melody leave.

"What was that about witches?" Neil asked. It made Norman recall that he hadn't been alone at the table with Melody.

"Grandma said that he came by asking about witches." Norman stated. "I thought that maybe it was important." Norman thought about the look Melody had on her face, when he brought up her father. She looked hurt and scared. He couldn't help but feel as though there were many times she had felt that way. He thought about how pretty she had looked when she was sitting alone and lost in her book. She looked like an angel. Norman felt sorry for ruining that moment for her. He had thought he was doing a good thing, but now...

"Do you still think that?"Neil asked.

"Uh?" Norman was confused. Could his friend read minds?

"About bring up her father?" Neil stated as he stole a biscuit.

"I'm not sure." Norman said as he started eating.

"She seemed shocked though." Neil said as he recalled the girls behavior.

"I would be too if someone just starting talk about my father like they knew him when they couldn't"

"No, I mean when you brought up the witch thing." Neil stated before drinking some milk.

"What?" Norman hadn't thought Melody was reacting to that.

"It just seemed to bother her when you said that." Norman couldn't think of anything to say back. His mind was racing.

Xxx

Melody walked down the hall. She could feel eyes staring her down. It was clear, at the end of her first day, that no one was going to like her. She smiled at the thought. Good. It was for the best that they left her alone. If Mother Ghost was right, Melody was going to die soonish and painfully. Melody walked past a few boys that all smirked her way. She didn't bother to look at them. They were a waste of space.

She skipped down the stairs outside the building and started her way home. School would be a livable event. It was just as she imagined, boring. Sadly, Melody had enjoyed being in a classroom full of normal children and not having to worry that one of them would attack her. It was nice to feel safe.

Melody walked with sure steps past a number of ghosts. She didn't greet them and acted as though none of them were there. She noticed that Norman was behind her and waving to the ghosts. She wondered if he was them or was acting as though he could. It was hard to tell sometimes.

Melody took a sharp turn and waited for Norman to turn. When he did, she pushed him up against the wall and glared at him. He seemed shocked, scared and slightly amused. He threw her a weak smile.

"I'm letting you go with a warning because I'm not sure if this is your way home." Melody hissed out before letting him go. She started walking and rolled her eyes when the boy walked beside her.

"Do you have to be like that?" He asked as he looked her over.

"Yes." Melody stated.

"I used to think that I was better off alone." Norman recalled his childhood. "But I was wrong."

Melody paused for a moment to think this news over. He thought he understood her. She had to tell him that he was wrong.

"They attack me." Melody whispered. "They attack me. Do they attack you?"

"No..." Norman was shocked to hear that. He had never met any that would harm people.

"Can you imagine what that's like? To be attacked by something no one but you can see?" Melody asked as she tried to stay strong. "No one believing that your being attacked? I don't think you can. If you did, you wouldn't be so willing to befriend others. It just hurts to." Melody whispered.

"I'm sorry." Norman said as he reached for her.

"Don't you get sick of saying that to me?" Melody questioned before turning to leave.

Xxx

Norman tossed and turned in his sleep. He has troubled by a nightmare. He woke up covered in sweat and full of fear. He was worried for himself, but for her, the woman in his dream. She had been screaming for mercy, begging to die quickly. He paled at as he recalled her being burned alive while people cheered. He couldn't see her face, but he felt she was important.

Norman wondered why he had such a dream. It had seemed so real at the time. He could smell burning flesh and feel the blade in his hand cut into his skin. The young man glanced at his hands to see that they were unmarked. He had this need to help her. He wanted to save her. Why hadn't he done anything? He was frozen with fear in his dream.

Xxx

Melody felt her hip burn. He birthmark was aching. She didn't understand why it was hurting. It had never bothered her before. It almost felt as though someone was branding her at that very moment. Her thoughts wondered to the story of the Willow Witch. Could the story be true? Melody lifted her her shirt to see her birthmark. It seemed to be reacting to something. She sighed as she dropped her shirt and turned back to her book.

Her fingers grazed the words on the page. It was an old journal. The pages were brown and slipping out. Mother Ghost had shown her were to find it. Melody had been shocked to find the journal inside the wall in the basement of the asylum. She had to hold back a scream when bones fell on her. The stuff had been even more shocked by the site than her. It seemed that the body had been there for over two hundred years. No one really questioned her hard as to why she had gone down there. It was clear to everyone that the body had nothing to do with her. Melody gained the book a few days before she had to leave so she didn't have to hid the book for very long.

Melody smiled softly as she looked over the words. _In a place called Blithe Hollow, he was born and raised. It was in this town that he watched her die in flames so high they touched the heavens. How brave she must have been to keep herself from harming them. Or was it kindness that kept them safe from her wrath? I dream her often enough to know her story, but I only see myself and know myself. But I only see her death, never her life. She only lets me see her death. Why does she saw me these images? Why curse me with her? Or have cursed myself and forgotten it?_

Melody glanced out her window in thought. The journal had been written by a man who said he had visions in his sleep. He had stated that around her age he had started having strange dreams about a burning woman and that she story slowly came to him. It was clear to the goth girl that the man did not have the willow tree birthmark. He spoke about the woman being branded with the mark, but said nothing more on the subject. If he had had the mark, he would have stated so.

The girl flipped the journal to another part. She was reading about the church from his dreams and taking notes about the layout. It was important to know what it would look like. If the church she went to didn't match, than this was all fake and she didn't have to worry about the story or dying. It would all be a sick joke that some ghost made up.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: Chapter is a little bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to keep it a part from what will be in the next chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get up. Been a bit heartbroken about Green Lantern tas not coming back. I have to work on Bunny Talk. I want to finish that before going to the ROTG reboot series Chaos. Thanks for the love and waiting on me. So, sorry. Enjoy

* * *

Melody Pine shot out of bed. She pulled open her dresser with a hard stare. She grabbed a pair of black pants and a black halter top. She rushed to put them on and find her spiked black belt. She pulled on knee high combat boots and brushed her hair into a ponytail. She took hold of her dark blue gym bag and threw on her jacket. She didn't plan on coming home after school. She planned on spending her weekend in the woods.

Xxx

Norman sighed as he pulled himself out of bed. It was the third night in a row where he had a nightmare. He wasn't even sure if he could call them nightmares. They felt too real, almost as if he had been there. He could still feel the heat from the flames and hear her screaming for mercy.

Norman moaned as he thought about having to deal with other people today. He didn't think he could do it. His thought about Melody Pine and how she must have feel knowing horrors and having to keep them all inside. He wondered if what she went through had been any worse than the dreams he had been having. He hoped not.

Xxx

Melody tossed her gym bag into her locker and slammed the door shut. Her first class was art. There was no need for books. She started to walk towards her class, but stopped and twisted her body to glance at something she wasn't sure she saw right. Melody glanced at Norman and wondered what was wrong with him. He looked like the walking dead. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she went to talk to him. Hell must have gone cold that morning.

"Hey Norman!" Melody called out. "You look like shit. Aren't you sleeping?" She had hoped to be kind and caring, but it came out all wrong.

"I had a bad dream." Norman stated as he opened his locker. He pulled out a book and glanced up at Melody to see how she would react. She seemed to not care.

"Is that all?" She asked with a snort. "My whole life has been a nightmare." She pushed off the lockers and started towards class. "If you want to get over a nightmare, face it or run from it? Just don't show up looking like death again. It's a downer."

"Hey, if you keep saying stuff like that, people may think you care." Norman yelled out.

"We wouldn't want that." She shot back with a chuckle. She gave a half hearted wave and smile.

Xxx

Norman stared at the back of Melody's head. He couldn't understand why she had asked about him. She had been trying to push him a way every day this week and finally she had shown signs of some kind of human emotion other than indifference. It was strange to see her caring for someone and yet... he couldn't help but think that deep down she was always like that.

"Just because I asked if you were okay, doesn't mean that I'm okay with you staring at me all day." Melody stated as she wrote something down. "It's bothersome."

"I'm not staring." Norman replied. "The broad is in front of you."

"Sure and you haven't picked the seat right behind me for the last three classes. It just happened." Melody whispered in a hiss.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Norman fought the blush.

"Sure you don't." She smiled to herself as she got up to leave.

Xxx

School was finally over. It had felt so long and unending. Melody had been itching to leave the building the moment she got there. She wanted to start her camping trip as soon as she could. It was important that she learn the truth. If wondered what she would do if she found out the curse was real. She wasn't sure what she could do to stop it. She started to have a panic attack as she pulled her gym bag out of her locker. She need to take things one step at a time. First she had to find the church.

"You look ready for a wildness hunt." Some girl named Aggie stated.

"Holy crap, kid." Melody breathed out. "You scared me. What are you doing around a high school? You're like twelve. Shouldn't you be around the other school or a park?"

"I don't communicate well with other children." The girl stated as she glanced about the empty hallway.

"I understand that, but I'm not the kind of person you want to talk to." The teen said as she shut her locker and started out of the building.

"You're one of the few that can talk back." Aggie said as she followed.

"Well, I have to go." Melody stated. She really didn't understand why this child clung to her. She didn't understand why this child said and did a lot of things.

Xxx

"Aggie?" Norman called not unsure. Why was her ghost around the school?

"Hello Norman." She smiled as she waited for Norman to reach her. "How have you been?"

"I've been good, but what are you doing here?" Norman couldn't help but worry.

"I felt that I should come back." Aggie stated. "There's this girl...and I feel a pull to her. Like I need to be around her... she can talk to me." Aggie seemed to light up when she said that.

"She can see you?" Norman's thoughts flashed to Melody. She had implied she could see the dead."Melody could see you?"

"Yes." Aggie laughed out. "But she thinks I'm alive. She keeps trying to get me to spend time with normal children, if only I could."

"You're sure she talks to you?" Norman couldn't help but to ask again. He was in shock. Melody had so much doubt in her gift, that she really could speak to the dead, that Norman hadn't been sure. He hadn't let himself believe she truly could until this moment.

"Yes, I am sure that she can talk to me. I talk. She listens and talks back." Aggie stated with a laugh. "You like her." The little girl found the teenager funny at that moment. He seemed silly.

"What? No!" Norman stated firmly. "I think that it would be nice to talk to someone like me is all." The boy stated as Aggie tried not to laugh.

"It helps that she's pretty."

"A little..." Norman couldn't denied that. "Listen... were there...was there anyone that was burned for being a witch around the time you were?" It was a hard thing to ask the ghost child, but he needed to know.

"Not during my life...but maybe after..." The girl stated with a frown. "There was one that happened before me. It was long before I was born. She was burned at the old part of town, a part we stopped using after her death. The ground was said to be cursed...and the people didn't like talking about the event."

"What happened to her?"

"She was burned alive."

"What else?"

"Is there anything else to that? I was a little girl. They didn't tell me much." Aggie pointed out.

"That's true.." Norman felt uneasy by his dreams and the fact that Melody was like him.

"Are you worried about Melody?" The ghost child ask as she eyed Norman.

"Why would I be?"

"Because she plans to stay the night in the woods." Aggie stated. "I don't understand why she wants to see the old church. I don't think it's safe. The mean ghosts sometimes go there."

"Mean ghosts?" Norman had to repeat the words to make himself believe them. "Does she know that?"

"I doubt it." Aggie said as she thought it over. "But I don't believe that she will be able to find it. It's not easy to get too and you need to know where it is to find it."

"I don't want to take that chance." Norman stated as he started rushing off. "Have to at least tell her about the danger she's in."

xxx

"Hey," Norman said into his phone. "Mom, I am going camping in the woods. Spending time with Aggie. Yea, I know it's short notice. Well, I think it's important. What! But I can see her any time! I think Aggie- What? Please! I never go out. I always get in early. I think, just once, that I can do something a little out of the norm for me. Mom, I have to go. Yea, love you too." Norman sighed as he shut off his phone. He could hear a girl laughing some feet a way. He turned his head up with wide eyed wonder. He was deep in the woods, but he didn't think that he would find her so soon.

"What's wrong Norman?" Melody laughed as she eyed him. "Did you think that I'd get hurt? Please, I can take care of myself."

"It's not safe." Norman stated.

"Life shouldn't be all about being safe." The girl chuckled out. "Besides it's not safe to stalk a crazy girl. May get you killed."

"How'd you know that I was here anyway?" Norman asked looking around. He didn't like talking about her being insane. It hurt too much, though he didn't understand why.

"You're a little loud." The girl smirked. "But I can work with that." Norman blushed.

"I didn't know that you-"

"I'm not that kind of girl." Melody cut off. "Never had the chance to get dirty." She said as she tossed her gaze to the sky.

"Ugh, I'm...sorry..." He wasn't sure what else to say.

"Don't do that." She sighed out. "Don't be kind just cuz you should be. I'm not worth it."

"That's not true." Norman called out as Melody started to walk a way. He ran to her side. She rolled her eyes and huffed. Why wouldn't this boy leave her alone?

"Why won't you leave me alone?"

"I hate to think you'd get hurt out here alone."

"So, it's okay if I get hurt in town than?" Melody questioned as the two hiked towards the church.

"NO!" Norman yelled out. "That wouldn't be much better."

"Why are you here? Don't BS me." Melody stated. "It's more than just to much sure I don't get hurt."

"I don't know." Norman hung his head in thought. Melody glanced at him and tugged out the bag on her shoulder. She was feeling uneasy about him being near her. Her feels were conflicted when it came to him. She wanted him as far a way as she could have him, but it felt nice to have him beside her. She frowned as she let the glow of the fading sun wash over them. They would walk a little more before making camp.

Xxx

The journal Melody read every night said there was a small home in the woods. It was an old place order and older willow tree. The man in the journal claimed that the home was spelled so that it stayed safe from age. Melody thought that someone just took care of it while. It was odd for her to see the log cabin looking so well together after two hundred years. Norman glanced at her unsure if he should have came. She seemed to know what she's doing.

"Uh, I guess that means the book has seem truth." Melody didn't seem to pleased to find the house. She hated finding it. She wished that it hadn't been there. She wanted to break down and cry, but Norman was there. She needed to stay strong. She needed to think of the church and how it wouldn't match the journal. She needed to think of that.

"What book?" Norman asked as he watched Melody open the front door of the home. The boy felt a sense of horror flood him. It felt as though he wanted nothing more than to enter that cabin under the willow tree, but he also wanted to run as far a way as he could. His body couldn't move. He could hardly breathe right. Melody called his name and it forced the young man to look at her. She seemed unhappy and rolled her eyes.

"Get in and I'll start a fire." She stated. "It's going to be a cold night."

"Yea, I guess it may be." Norman replied as he eyed the tree. He walked into the house and he swore he heard a whisper in the wind. It sounded almost as like the words 'welcome home.'

xxx

Norman slept on the floor while Melody took the old bed. It was more her idea than his, but he let it be. Melody shut off her phone and told Norman to do the same. She pulled out an alarm clock from her bag and set it. She didn't talk to the young man even after she set the fire. She told him that she was going to bed. She needed to sleep and think about what she was going to do tomorrow. She popped some pills into her mouth and slammed her body onto the bed.

"Make sure the fires out before you pass out." She stated. "I'll wake you in the morning."

"Okay." Norman felt so small. He stared at the fire in deep thought. Something had felt wrong since he enter the cabin. It felt like he didn't belong here. He felt guilty about setting foot in this place. He heard what sounded like a whisper again.

'Sleep.' He thought he heard. 'Sleep.' Norman struggled to keep his eyes open. He became to hard and he entered the world of dreams.

_"You shouldn't be here." He heard a voice say. She sounded like someone he knew. "I told you that if I were to be with anyone I would die."_

_ "I can not believe that things can be foretold." Norman said as he stood in the doorway. The woman he was speaking to was hiding in the shadows. She didn't want to be seen by him. It was clear she was fearful._

_ "You believe in God, and that his son will return. That was foretold to you. You believe that. Why must what I believe be wrong? Because you want something else? How unfair you are to me." She bit back. She wanted him to leave. Norman realized in pure horror at that moment that she was the woman burning in his nightmares. This had been her cabin. _

_ "Don't push me a way in fear of something that may happen."_

_ "It is something that will happen if you don't let this go." She yelled. "I have seen it. In my dreams, I am burning." She pointed towards the door. "Leave or I shall die."_

_ "I have to go home. There are matters that I must see to, but I will come back."_

_ "Go see to your matters, but leave all thoughts and feelings of me here. Leave me behind or it shall be my death." She promised._

_ "Goodbye." He whispered as he shut her front door. She was in no mood to say anymore to him. Norman didn't understand what his dream meant. He needed to see more. He needed to have the chance to understand why she had to die. Norman fought hard to keep seeing, but something was pulling him back._

"Norman!" Melody screamed as she shook him up. "We have to get going or this will take all weekend." Melody had changed her top. It was a blue corset with vine images covering it. Her hair was down for the moment, but Norman knew she would pull it up. She never kept her hair down. It was a shame since she looked prettier when it was down.

"What? How long have you been up?" Norman asked as he eyed the cabin.

"Not long. But if your coming with me, you have to start moving." She stated as she pulled her hair up. "I'm ready to leave." When she finished with her hair, she zipped her bag close. She studied the teen boy in front of her. Something was wrong with him. "I would say you look like you've seen a ghost, but you say you see them all the time... so, yeah...you look like you've seen the Reaper."

"I just had a...weird dream." Norman wasn't sure what else to call it.

"Another nightmare?" Melody questioned as she eyed him. There was a hint of an emotion that she hoped Norman couldn't see. Norman hadn't been looking at her. If he had, he would have seen how worried she was for him.

"More like the setup to one." Norman stated as he pulled himself up to stand. He glanced at Melody and was taken back by where she was standing. She at the same location the woman in his dream stood. It shocked him. Melody wanted to ask him more questions, but she recalled that she was keeping a lot more from him than he was from her.

"Okay, lets get going." Melody took her bag and started walking to the door. "Hate to spend another night at here." She really hated to see something that backup what Mother Ghost had said. It bothered her. Norman seemed like a zombie and that bothered her too. She would need a good long shower and time alone when this trip was over.

Xxx


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Short chapter, but felt like I needed to put something out before I forget to. Enjoy.

* * *

Melody stood at the edge of the graveyard. It felt odd seeing the church from the book. It has just as the man said it would be. The church was larger than needed to be. It had two windows on the bell tower that seemed to be staring down at her. It was as if the church building didn't want her there. She took out her camera and took a picture as she studied the building a little more.

The church must have been painted white when it was new, now it was a dull gray. The stain glass windows were mostly broken and touch from the roof to almost the ground. This was not a normal church. This was a church that belonged to a town of money and slight power. Melody was confused by why anyone would build such a church, but say that money was evil. She walked towards the building taking another picture. This time it was one focusing on the entrance area.

There was a slight breeze that touched the leaves on one of the graves she was moving towards. The leaves brushed to one side and a hand slowly started to reach out. It went to touch her ankle, but seemed to pull back when Norman called out for Melody to wait for him. He seemed unhappy that she just left him peeing.

"Hey, you could have waited for me." Norman frowned as he saw the hand that was close to her. He wondered how Melody had overlooked it being inches from her foot.

"I don't want to waste all day." She chuckled. "Besides, it wasn't like I went far."

"This is the place?" Norman eyed the building. He thought it would have been something important, but it looked pointless.

"Don't look at it like that." Melody sighed out. She pulled Norman next to her and told him to close his eyes. "Now, think of green fields, the sun high and sky full of clouds. The building is freshly painted white, the windows shined, and the bell lightly ringing from the touch of the wind. The graves are fewer and well kept. Open your eyes, and think of it like that."

Norman opened his eyes and it felt like he stepped into another world. Everything seemed different. There was the woman from his dream opening the door. She seemed to be scared. She pushed open the door and ran in. Norman followed. He couldn't see where Melody went. He could only see the woman from the cabin. What was she doing here?

The woman tripped. She let out a half scream and pushed herself up as best she could. Norman has able to not his way to her. He reached his hand out to help her. He waited to ease her suffering. It broke his heart to see her in pain and full of fear. Norman forced the woman to turn and look at him. He was shocked to feel a hand slap him.

"Don't you dare just grab me!" Melody screamed out as she ripped her wrist away from the young man. "What the hell is wrong with you? You ruined the picture I was taking."

"I don't understand." Norman stated unsure. He glanced around with a blush. Melody followed his gaze. He was seeing past the walls, floors, and rows of seats. He was seeing something that the punk female could not. She eyed him and wondered what he saw. The man in the journal said something about feeling as though he had lived the nightmares before. _It is not only that I feel that I have lived the event. I feel as though I have been playing these events over and over. Am I the man rolling a rock up hill? When I reach the end, does the rock roll back down and I start once more pushing the rock up?_

"Norman?" Melody stepped closer to the boy. Her body was inches a way from his. Norman looked up at her and seemed to be studying her. She felt naked at that moment. He placed his hands to cup her face. Melody was in shock. No one had been this close to her and didn't try to hurt her. She wasn't sure what to do. She was nervous. The next thing she knew she was being pulled backwards.

Xxx

A dark mist wrapped itself around Melody's legs. The mist pulled the female towards the alter. She gasped in shock. The mist felt like a thousand hands pulling at her. She wanted to fight back, but worried what would happen to her. The floor under the alter cracked opened and she was pulled into the hole. Norman slide forward and reached out to grab her hand. He tried to pull her up.

"Let us feed!" It sounded like a number of voices said at once. "We our so hungry!"

"No! This isn't real!" Melody panicked. This could not be happening. She knew in her heart that she was going to die. She was going to die, over and over again.

"You can't have her." Norman whispered as he pulled with all his strength.

There was a name being whispered up from the hole. It sounded like a female voice. It sounded odd to Melody's ears. It was not saying what everyone else. No, this voice was speaking something knew. It was a name. Her voice was soft and sad.

"Norman, let me go." Melody cried. "You shouldn't risk your life for mine." Tears streamed down her face.

"I can't." Norman smiled. "I can't let you down again." Again! That word surprised Melody and Norman. Melody felt something inside her wake up. She started to push herself up. She would not die. Not like this. Not right now.

Xxx

Norman and Melody worked together to pull her out of the hole. The mist hissed out in pain and the floor rebuilt itself. Melody lay on the floor in young mans arms. She stared at the floor unsure what to do. She turned to look at Norman and in that moment let her racing heart take over. She kissed Norman hard on the mouth. She let everything else go. The fear, the nightmares, and the harsh reality of her world melted a way. She pulled a way just as Norman started to kiss her back.

Melody pushed herself off of him. She didn't know what to do or what to think. Her head was full of things. She couldn't seem to hold onto any idea or image. She glanced into Norman's eyes and saw the eyes of someone else. It was Norman, but it wasn't. These new, but old eyes stared at her. These eyes stared into her soul. In horror, she ran out of the church. She didn't know why, but she felt the need to run a way. In that moment, she sensed death in these eyes.

Xxx

Norman sat down on his bed. He didn't know what he should do. He touched his lips in thought and recalled the look on Melody's face. It had been stupid to let her kiss him. It had been stupid to kiss her back. It had been stupid to let her run a way from his. There had been a number of stupid things he let happen. He couldn't think of why he had let her kiss him. But he couldn't force himself to be upset by the kiss. He wanted her to do it so bad. He felt like he needed to feel her lips on his. He needed to feel that she was alive and well.

Norman placed a hand over his heart._"I can't let you down again."_ What had he meant when he said those words? Was she the woman in his dreams? Was he the man that caused her to be set on fire? He felt sick at that thought. If that were true, he had no right to kiss her. He had no right to stand beside her.

"Grandma? If I did something wrong in a past life, should I let it control this life?" Norman asked. His grandma reached out to lift his head up.

"What do you think dear?"

xxx

Melody opened the door to her home and let her bag fall to the ground. She couldn't think straight. She wanted to run a way from her life. She wanted to be like everyone else. She pushed the door behind her shut and walked slowly to the small table in the middle of the room. Hope Pine had left her daughter's bottle of pills on the table. Melody picked up the plastic bottle and eyed it. It had been a while since she took her pills. Could everything be in her hand? Could it all be that none of it happened? Could she dare to hope that be the case?

Melody opened the bottle and purred out some of the white pills into her hand. She looked at them. She recalled thinking and feeling this way before. She recalled this feeling and wondered when would it go a way. Dr. Clark had told her to think of something else in those moments. Dr. Clark had told Melody to call her during these times. Dr. Clark had said Melody should do a lot of things when this moods hit the young teen.

Melody sat down on the staircase and stared at the pills while pulling out her phone. What would she do?

Xxx

Norman took the shortest path he could to Melody's home. He needed to talk to her. He needed to clear the air or at least get some things off his chest. Whatever he was going through, she was going through it too. He stood in front of her door. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to both her and he didn't want to step foot in this house. The last time he had been in there was when his uncle had past on.

Norman took a breath and went to knock on the door. He was upset to see that the door was open already. He pushed the door opened the rest of the way to find Melody on the staircase. She didn't look well. She seemed to be drifting off. Norman rushed to her side. He took hold of her face and started asking her to open her eyes.

"No, no, let me go." Melody whispered. "It's better...this way..."

"What did you do? Talk to me." Norman wasn't sure what to do.

"I'm like Alice...the white rabbit...let me fall...fall...fall..."

For a moment, Norman had no idea what she was talking about. He thought about everything he knew about Alice and white rabbits. In horror, he understood what she was implying. He picked her up as best he could and forced her into a nearby bathroom. He forced her to go with him. She seemed to understand what he was doing. Norman forced the girl to open her mouth and he stuck two fingers as far down her throat as he could. He waited until he heard her coking to remove the fingers and let her go. She grabbed the toilet and throw up as much as she could. It seemed that once she started she couldn't stop. Norman was fine. The more she throw up, the more he felt better that the pills were out of her system.

"A little more." Norman said as he rubbed her back. "Try to get a little more out." Melody didn't say anything back. She was busy throwing up. The smell of vomit made her throw up one final time. Her chest hurt and her body couldn't stop shaking. Norman pulled her a way from the toilet and flushed it. He reached for a towel and started to clean her mouth off. He smiled weakly at her. He was proud that she throw up.

"Why?" Melody cried as she looked into his eyes. The death she had saw there before was gone. She saw something new in his eyes. Something she wasn't use to seeing.

"I want...I need you to be..." Norman didn't know how to finish his sentence. "I don't want to lose you." He stared at her. "You are important to me."

"Why?" Melody whispered. "You didn't even know me before last week."

"Don't you feel it?" Norman questioned. "Don't you feel like that's not true."

"I don't know what I feel." Melody snapped her eyes a way from his. "I only know fear. I'm so afraid."

"Of what?" Norman wondered out loud. "Of the mist?"

"Of burning." Melody's body shook hard at the word. "I don't want to die like that again. I don't want that to happen. I felt them trying to take me to hell. They want me to burn. They want me to burn and burn and burn." Melody seemed beyond reason.

"It's okay." Norman whispered as he took her in his arms. "I won't let them take you. I promise that I won't let them."

"You can promise anything you want," Melody remarked with a heavy heart. "But that does not mean you can keep it."

"Listen to me." Norman demanded. "We will stop this together. "

"But I don't know how to undo what I have done." Melody stated in a panic. "I don't even understand how I put the curse on my soul. I just- I just don't know."

"That doesn't matter." Norman stated. "We will find out together. From this moment on."

"Together?" Melody wasn't sure about this. "But you don't need to do. It could put you-"

"I said together." Norman smiled down at her softly. "I faced an anger witch's spirit. I can help you do this." Norman didn't want to tell her that he was a part of this even if she didn't want him to be. He didn't want to tell her that he was the reason she burned in her dreams. He didn't want her to run a way again.


	5. Chapter 5

Note: It feels like a long time. I've been busy and I've started a new fanfic called Knights of Chaos under Rise of the Guardians. It focuses on a group of beings that call themselves the Knights of Chaos and their quest with the guardians to stop Discord, queen of chaos, and the Black Knight and save the knights of chaos that were kidnapped. The Knights of Chaos are a six, really seven, member group. The Red Knight is Tessa Heat, love interest to Jack Frost. She has powers over light. The Yellow Knight is Rai, he acts somewhat like leader. He was powers over light. The Green Knight Crush, love interest to Bunnymund. She kinda is hard to pin down and fast on her feet. The Yellow-Red Knight is Day Dream, nicknamed Flare daughter of Pitch Black and twin sister to the Black-White Knight. She has power over dream dust. Her dust is colors pink-purple. The Black-white knight is Imagination, nicknamed Flash. He controls illusions, It's unclear how far his power goes. The Blue Knight is April Shower and she controls rain clouds, which is useful in battle. The Black Knight, Whisper, was the first Black Knight that was removed from power and replaced. His replacement has gone on retirement of sorts and so the Knights only have six active members. If you like this story, you could check out Knights of Chaos and see how you like that.

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and Himeno-Kazehito thank you for loving my story. Enjoy chapter 5!

* * *

Melody Pine walked down the halls with her head down. She had promised to let Norman help her, but she didn't know how to let someone in, at least not someone alive. Melody turned left and walked up some steps. She had no idea what she was doing. Why was she staying around? Why did she let him talk her into trying to live? She wanted so much to give up, but how could she when he looked at her like that. He believed that they could stop the curse. Norman believed in her. If he could believe in her, why couldn't she?

Melody tugged at her bag. She was scared to let him in. She was scared of dying. She thought about her father. He had died such a horrible way. Melody had been a child at the time. She wondered if her mother know about Melody remembered his death. After all, how could she forgot something that happened in front of her? The car crushed with her in it.

Xxx

Norman watched as Melody walked around with less spirit than normal. She seemed troubled. She hadn't talked much after she throw up the pills and she hadn't opened her door to him when he stopped by later to check on her. She had ignored him. He could hear her crying from outside the house. She seemed to be freaking out. He would too if ghosts were trying to kill him.

Melody pushed past a group of cheerleaders as she moved down the hall. Norman wondered about her father. His gift, of seeing spirits, had been past down to him. Was that the same with Melody? From what she said and, it seemed as though the event was a shock to her father at first. Could she have mistaken shock at finding out about her powers for something else?

Xxx

Norman made plans to walk Melody home, but stopped when he was his best friend eying him. Neil seemed to be highly upset. It was in that moment that Norman recalled he had said he would come over during the weekend. Instead, Norman had followed Melody into the woods and spent his time making sure she was okay. It had forgotten all about his best friend. There had been too much going on.

"Listen," Norman started to say as he walked towards Neil. Melody took this as a sign she should go. She felt sick and didn't have the energy to watch the horror show. "I can explain."

"You don't have to!" Neil stated. "I get it."

"No, you don't." Norman stated in a firm whisper. He didn't want the whole school to know what was going on.

"NO, I think I do." Neil didn't care who heard them. "You left me this weekend to spend it with Melody, the hot new girl."

"There was more to it than-" Norman tried to explain.

"It must be nice having an easy lay. Bet she doesn't care who she lets in." Neil snapped out. "You couldn't even bother to call or anything."

"It's not like that." Norman was upset. How dare his best friend call the girl...cared about a whore. What gave Neil the right to say such things? "You don't know what your talking about."

"People saw you go into her house Saturday. They said you spent the night." Neil yelled.

"I did, but I had to." Norman rushed out. "I needed to look after her."

"Bet you looked after her real good." Neil hissed out.

"What''s going on?" Norman questioned in a deep rage. "Where is this coming from? Is it because she likes me and not you?"

"You don't get it!" Neil screamed. "How could you!"

Xxx

Norman sat behind the school building. He slammed his fist onto the ground. He couldn't understand why his friend was acting this way. It didn't make sense. They had seemed fine the last time they spoke. Did something happen?

"You know, if I believed in having friends, I'd be upset to find out that a friend kept something from me." Melody said as she sat down to the left of Norman. "I guess it would feel like being stabbed in the back."

"I didn't keep things from him." Norman sighed out.

"If it were you, hearing that Neil had spent the weekend with a girl and didn't bother to talk to you, wouldn't you be upset? You didn't even call him." Melody sighed out. "I don't understand why you even stayed with me?"

"I didn't want you to hurt yourself again." Norman whispered as he looked at her.

"I'm going to die some day." Melody pointed out. "Why not sooner than later?"

"It hurts to hear you talk like that." Norman said as he slid his hand closer towards her. Without thinking, Melody dropped her right hand onto the floor. The two teens laced their fingers together as Melody rested her head against Norman's shoulder.

"It hurts to see you upset." Melody stated without seeing any depth to the words. Norman smiled.

"Sounds like you care about me." Norman laughed out drily.

"Don't make me hurt you." Melody whispered softly with the smallest of smiles.

"I could kiss you..." Norman whispered as he turned his head to look down at her. "If you ever let me."

"You could get kicked in the balls instead." Melody stated in a dark tone.

"But you seem to like it." Norman chuckled.

"I was half out of my mind." Melody cried out as she ripped her hand a way from the boy. She stood up as fast as she could. "Last time I try to be helpful." She screamed as she stormed off. Norman thought she looked cute.

Xxx

"Really weird that there's so much dark energy in this area." A woman in Red leather stated. She had a red hood hiding her face.

"You think that this is something to look into?" A man in white leather asked. He too had a hood hiding his face.

"It seems to be following something. Like a tracer was put on someone that calls dark spirits." The woman seemed to ignore the man.

"So, you want to look into this?" He asked as stared at her.

"I think that we should keep watch from a far." She stressed the far part.

"Why are you saying it like that?" The man in white asked.

"Because your hands on everything. Can't leave things alone." She stated as she looked into the woods. "We can't be force things here. They need to play out."

"I guess that means more time alone." He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"You like that too much." She teased as she moved towards him.

"Yea, I do." He nodded. "But just as much as you."

Xxx

Norman sighed as he started his way towards Neil's house. It was hard to say sorry for something he didn't think he did wrong, but maybe if he explained things...maybe Neil wouldn't be so upset. Norman sighed deeply as he walked down the road.

He noticed a woman with pink hair standing next to a man with white hair. They didn't seem human, but he knew they weren't ghosts. What could they be? The woman stopped the white haired man from talking. She stared at Norman as if studying him. She shook her head and pulled the man to follow her. Norman wasn't sure if he should make anything out of the reaction or not.

Xxx

"Hey," Norman tried to smile as the door opened.

"Oh, it's you." Neil's older brother seemed out of it. "Yea, he said to tell ya he's not home."

"I can see him." Norman stated as Neil walked through the house. "He's behind you."

"Look kid," Mitch stated as he blocked Norman's view. "I kinda like you, but you really hurt my brother. You kinda pushed him aside for a chick. That's just cold. I'd never do that to a bro."

"She tried to kill herself and I had to stay with her." Norman stated as he tried to push past Mitch.

"What? Really?" Mitch couldn't believe it. "You took her someplace?"

"No, I couldn't." Norman replied as he gave up trying to move Mitch. "I didn't want her put a way again."

"Oh, this that crazy chick." Mitch stated in thought.

"She's not crazy." Norman stated with a sigh. "She just had people that didn't understand her gift. They made her think she was crazy when she wasn't. I guess if someone said they were attacked by ghosts...I wouldn't believe it...but after seeing it happen...I kinda feel bad for her."

Mitch seemed confused. What in the world was this kid talking about? Did the kid hit his head?

"Wow, you saw ghosts attack her?" Neil rushed towards the door. He didn't seem as upset after hearing that. "What was that like?"

"It was scary." Norman stated. "They tried to drag her down into this hole that they created in the floor. Melody's legs are all messed up from it. She hadn't noticed until after she got home and stopped freaking out."

"I wish I was there." Neil seemed overly happy.

"You do know that you wouldn't be able to see them?" Norman forced his friend to recall.

"Oh, yea." Neil did recall that fact after thinking it over.

Xxx

Melody felt gross. She had willingly held Norman's hand. She was growing soft and starting to care. Her mother would be so happy with her. Hope would go on and on about how Melody would soon get a boyfriend, unless she already had one. Did she have a boyfriend? Melody wondered to herself. Did Norman count as a boyfriend or a boy friend?

The goth teen sighed as she undid her hair. She needed a shower to clear her mind. She turned on the water for the tube and walked over to her bedroom to get something to change into. A shadow moved past her door when her back was turned. Melody wondered who that could be.

"Mom?" Melody pine cried out as she turned to look down the hall. "Are you home?"

There was no answer. The girl felt that was odd, but returned to making her bath. She had had a rough few days. It was nature for her mind to play tricks on her. A number of side effects from the drugs could have been at play. There was a small cry that sounded like a cat. Strange. Melody thought to herself. She hadn't noticed cats around the house before. It could have been possible that she missed such a thing. The goth wasn't much for pets.

Melody shut off the water and started to remove her clothes. She paused after unhooking her bra. It felt like someone was watching her, but no one was home. Could it have been a spirit? No, Melody thought to herself. She was sure that the house had been ghost free.

"I'm just driving myself crazy." Melody stated to herself before removing her pants. "I just need to relax." She tossed the jeans onto the floor. Unknown to her, there was a pair of eyes watching her from the floor. They blinked a few times before fading into the wood. Two shadows ran past her door as the girl stepped into the tube.

Xxx

Norman and Neil walked towards Melody's place. The teens had asked for a ride, but Mitch had wanted nothing to do with ghosts. He was still upset about his last car being destroyed. Norman walked slowly so that his best friend could keep up. The ghost seer may have felt like rushing, but that didn't mean he wanted to leave his friend behind.

"Do you tell her about your dreams?" Neil asked Norman.

"To be honest, I don't know how to." Norman sighed out. "I can't just say that I have been having dreams of watching a woman burned to death after she said she has dreams of burning to death."

"Yea, I get it." Neil stated skipping ahead of his friend. "It's kinda like saying you may have been a part of the death that cursed her." Norman stopped in horror. Could that have been the case? "That doesn't mean that happened." Neil rushed to say. "It's just that she could take it the wrong way."

"I guess your right." Norman rubbed the back of his neck. There was so much that he didn't know.

"Do you think she'll be made that you told me?"

"I have no idea." Norman stated as they went on there way to Melody's house.

Xxx

Melody relaxed in the hot water. It had been ages since she had a bath. In the nut house, they didn't like people taking bathes. It was too much of a risk. At home, Hope had thought the same way and wouldn't let Melody have a bath unless it was on the first floor with the door opened. It was understandable why Melody didn't take bathes at home, but today was different. Her mother had said she would be a way for hours, possibly the whole day. Today was a rare chance. Melody just had to risk it. And if her mother yelled, Melody could point out that she had left the bathroom door opened and that while she was on the second floor, anyone could pick in to see her from the stairs. It was reasonable enough.

Melody closed her eyes as she thought about lakes and trees. She lifted her hand to turn on some music. It was a soft piece of music that filled the room with the sound of rain fall. It was peaceful. She sighed as she rolled her shoulders back. This was what she needed. A shadow moved closer to the tube. Melody hummed softly to herself. The shadow slowly rose higher up the tube. Melody slid deeper into the water. She was in love with the moment. The shadow moved higher up the tube and was now inches from her face. And than...

Xxx

Norman pulled out the spare key. Hope had told him where to find it if he was worried about Melody. Mrs. Pine had also left a box of _items_ for him in case he needed them. The thought of the box made his ears red. It had been an awkward moment for him. He tried not to recall the look on the older woman's face. She didn't seem to care about what she just implied.

Xxx

Melody opened her eyes in shock as her head was forced into the water. She tried to pull herself up, but couldn't. It felt like someone, or thing, was holding her down. She could feel nails digging into her skull as she splashed about. Melody pushed herself out of the water and screamed at the sight in front of her. There was what seemed to be a woman with a decayed face staring at her. The woman opened her mouth wide and roared. Teeth were falling all into the water and the woman, creature, had a hand pulling at Melody's black locks. The goth girl screamed once more as she tried to move a way. The woman slammed the girls head back into the water. Melody screamed in the water at the sight of bugs and worms swimming in the tube.

Xxx

Norman pushed open the door just in time to hear Melody screaming. Neil looked shocked to hear the girl screaming. It sounded like someone was killing her. Norman raced to the top of the stairs and spotted what was happening. He was horrified to see a ghost holding Melody's head under water. Neil was right behind Norman a gasped.

"What is she?" Neil asked in horror.

The dead woman turn to see what made the noise and let out a roar of rage. She let go of Melody's head and raced towards Norman and Neil. Neil tried to run down the stairs, but Norman wouldn't let him. Somewhere in his mind, Norman felt that this ghost wouldn't hurt him. He felt lucky that he had been right when the ghost raced off towards a nearby window.

Melody took in as much air as her lungs would let her. She need to breath. She need to feel air in her lungs. She was 90% sure she peed herself during the attack. She crawled out of the tube and fell onto the floor. Norman rushed towards her and grabbed a towel. He covered her with it as she tried to regain herself. She had been sure that death was going to take her.

"What was that?" Neil asked. "How could I see that?"

"I guess it's a powerful spirit." Norman stated as he pulled Melody to her feet. "Let's take her to her room."

"I don't want you to go!" Melody screamed as she pulled Norman and herself back onto the floor. She was shaking.

"It'll be better if we get you in bed." Norman whispered into her hair. "Trust me."

"You won't leave me?" Melody asked as she stared at Norman. She felt so helpless.

"I won't leave you." Norman promised.


	6. Chapter 6

Note: I would love more reviews, but I think so far my story is doing well. Melody is kinda fun to write and Norman is kinda fun to mess with. I like Norman. He just goes with the flow, very easy to write and Melody kinda shuts down about everything which makes her easy. If I had any issues, it would be on how to end the story without making it some stupid. So far, the story is going well and has a lot of little details in it that may or may not be clues. I find myself having to look over past chapters to recall everything that I put in. Do you have any elements that you love most about my story? Don't be shy ask or tell a way.

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 thank you for enjoying the chapter.

Himeno Kazehito I will not go into too great detail about who they are, but I do have them in other stories. I kinda liked them so much that I feel like I need to write them more and it bleeds through.

readitandmeep where do I start. Thank you for enjoying my writing style. It means a lot. This is my first time writing a ghost story and found the tube scene very stressful. I wasn't sure if it sounded good or not, but I feel better hearing that so far my story is going well.

I don't own this movie, but if I did you better believe that it would be a good horror show. Review of Melody will get you.

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Norman called his parents. He felt bad for lying to them once again, but he couldn't tell them the truth. Neil had agreed to help Norman keep the truth a secret. It was clear that Melody was not crazy, but in danger. Neil seemed overjoyed at the idea of helping and that there was monsters about. Melody clearly was unhappy about this. She didn't like to her pain to be the source of someone elses enjoyment.

"Relax." Norman sighed out. "He doesn't mean any harm. He never gets to see this stuff."

"Than he can take my curse." Melody hissed as she pulled a shirt on. Norman had his back turned to her so that he didn't peek at her naked body. Melody was grateful for that. She felt awful about him seeing her naked, and that the fat one had too. It seemed that nothing was going her way. Why did he always do things that went against what she wanted? He always had to do his own thing. It wasn't fair. It was what got her into this mess in the first place.

'If he had listened, if he had stayed a way, they never would have burned her alive.' Melody thought to herself. 'Uh,' Melody felt confused. Why had she made the man in the crowd Norman? There was nothing to say that it had been him that caused her problems. It could have been Neil or that weird kid Alvin.

"Are you done?" Norman asked shyly. He was worried about showing her nude body once more. It wasn't that he didn't like seeing her wet and naked. The problem was that he did like it, loved it even. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Now was not a good time to think those kinds of thoughts. He had other matters to deal with. Matters of life and death.

"I'm dressed enough." Melody stated as she crawled onto her bed. She was planning on only wearing a baggy t-shirt and white panties. Norman rolled his eyes as he turned to look at her. "What? It's better than being naked."

"Yea, I'll go tell Neil that your dressed and we can talk about this stuff."

"Did he really see her?" Melody questioned as she grabbed a small stuffed bunny. It was old and worn out. It had been the second to last thing her father gave her.

"Yea, he did."

"And that means my mom could see her too?" Melody seemed to be wondering that more to herself.

"Mel," Norman breathed out. "Did your father see things?"

"No," Melody shook her head. "He wanted to take me on cases because he wanted me to ask the ghosts questions. He said it could help them and possible me."

"And the day he past a way, did he say anything?" Norman hated to ask, but he felt he had to.

"I recall him running towards the car. He seemed upset, but wouldn't say why." Melody cuddled her stuffed toy closer to her body. "He gave me Mr. Fluff and told me that everything was going to be okay. He said that it would be okay. He knew what had to be done. He had found a letter that explained things...well most things. He said he understood and than he saw something on the road and we crashed."

"I'm sorry..." Norman said as he stared out the window. "I know that must have been hard on you."

"Mom... burned everything he had been working on. The only thing that was left from that case was my necklace." Melody touched the charm around her neck. "It came in the mail a few weeks later with a small note."

"What did the note say?" Norman asked as he knelled at the foot of her bed. Melody looked up from her locket to stare into the boys eyes.

"It said, 'for your future' and only that." Melody smiled sweetly at the memory. "It was like my daddy was there whispering me those words. I felt safe in that moment."

"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep you safe." Norman stated as he leaned in to touch her face. He brushed a way the few tears that fell from her eyes. She weakly smiled at him.

"It can't be helped." Melody drily whispered. "I'm cursed. This evening couldn't be stopped. I'd be attacked one way or another."

"I just want you to feel safe." Norman sighed out as he pulled back. He started to walk to the door. He needed to talk to Neil.

"You make me feel normal." Melody rushed out before Norman could leave. "I think that's just as important as feeling safe."

"It's a close second." Norman nodded with a smile. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"I'll scream if I'm attacked." Melody chuckled.

"Make sure it's loud."

"Oh, you like it loud." Melody laughed. "I could be loud for you." Norman's face turned bright red. He could see how Hope and Melody were related in this moment.

"I'll be downstairs." Norman blushed as he left her room. Melody thought he looked cute all red and embarrassed.

Xxx

"So," Neil said as Norman walked into the kitchen. "What are we going to do?"

"I have no idea." Norman sighed out as he took a seat opposite his friend. "I really don't." Norman couldn't think of a way out. It all felt so hopeless, but the thought of letting something happen to Melody felt like dying inside.

"We had bad spots before and made it through?"

"That was different." Norman rubbed his forehead. "That was mostly a misunderstanding. Here, we have ghosts trying to kill Melody for no real reason. Aggie doesn't know anything and she's the oldest ghost in town."

"What about Melody's locket?" Neil asked. "It's about 400 years old. You think that's a clue?"

"How do you know it's that old?" Norman was taken back.

"Mitch's boyfriend is a jewelry and he saw Melody at the store. He kept going on and on about how amazing the necklace looked. He new it to be about 400 years old because of what the design on it. He said that it was very rare and he had only heard one other person to see it." Neil shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know much more than that. After we figured out that the girl was Melody, I toned out."

"Did he say anything more about the locket?" Norman asked.

"No, not really. Oh, but he did say something about the guy he heard about the necklace from."

"And?" Norman hated when Neil talked this way. The rounder of the two would sometimes start talking about a subject and than stop without warning. He had to be reminded to finish the story.

"Oh, right the important part." Neil chuckled nervously. "Well, Mitch's boyfriend said that the guy gave it some writer before he past a way. Said that the locket had a troubling event tied to it."

"What kind of event?" Norman asked. He wondered if the curse was tied to the necklace.

"Said that the woman that wore it killed her groom and swore to kill his first lover in very life to come." Neil stated coldly. "It was a very upsetting story. Made my stomach hurt."

"Than it doesn't have to do with Melody." Norman stated as he sat up.

Xxx

"You know there are so many ways to kill someone than just outright killing them." The woman with the pink hair stated as she stared through the woods. She played with her red leather pants.

"Are you talking about us or those kids?" The man in white leather asked.

"Both." She whispered. "But more so that child."

"Are you sure that she won't just end it?" The man in white asked as he moved a tree branch out of the way. From where the two were standing, they could see Melody's home below.

"No, I think she understands that isn't a way out." The woman in red stated. "She knows that she'll just have to deal with it all over again in the next life if it isn't corrected in this life."

"That's just messed up." He sighed out.

"It's why I said we should stay around." She stated softly. "I feel like I understand her pain. She fell in love with a boy that she didn't want to love, a boy that never understood he should stay a way. He worked his way into her life and than one of them died in front of the other."

"Our story?" The man in white breathed out.

"With a few changes and minus the curse that kills one of us in every life."

"You knew it was that kinda of story from the start?"

"No, but I felt the magic of their tragedy. There was so much magic and raw emotions that day that it still can be felt. It's like our lake."

"I have no idea what your talking about." He shook his head with a small smile.

"It doesn't matter." She smiled. "So, how to help her?"

"Still unsure where the source is?"

"It is hard to say. Her soul is double cursed. But I can't tell what curses she has." She frowned in deep thought.

"Crush could tell you." He reminded his friend.

"No, she's finally getting close to her man." The pink hair woman stated. "If I asked for help, it would be our death."

"I agree." The man in white stated.

"We'll watch and see what happens. The more I see the more I know." She smiled. "But that thing that attacked her was something new to me. I'll do some checking into that."

"Okay, and I'll try to watch over her." He stated. "We have a plan."

"No, we have nothing, but a few kids in danger." She pointed out. "But for now, I sense she will be safe."

Xxx

Melody opened the window in her room. She stared towards the woods. Funny. She thought she sensed something outside. She leaned out the window and scanned the outside. There didn't seem to be anyone out there. She pulled herself back in and closed the window. She felt awkward about being alone now.

"Norman!" Melody called out. "You still here?"

"Yea, Neil too!" Norman called back. "Did something happen?"

"No! But I'm coming down!" She yelled back. She pulled on some sweat pants and walked downstairs. It may not have been smart to leave her alone.

Xxx

"I have no idea how to work this thing." Melody stated as she looked at the stove.

"You don't know how to turn on the stove?" Neil asked.

"They don't like crazy people near stoves were I stayed." Melody stated with cold eyes.

"I forget that you're from a mad house." Neil nervously laughed out.

Melody gave Norman a look. He understood what she was saying in that look. Melody was warning Norman that she may end up killing his friend.

"I don't think we need to bring that up." Norman stated in a small voice.

"So, hot coco is made with milk and a chocolate bar?" Melody asked as she held both items up in the air.

"You know nothing about cooking, do you?" Norman asked with a smile.

"Is that not right?" She asked looking at the items in her hands.

"It's really old fashion." Neil stated. "No one makes it like that anymore."

"But we can try to." Norman smiled out as he rushed towards the girl's side. "It sounds...nice, right?"

"Oh, yea." Neil nodded his head. "Sounds fun."

"Really?" Melody asked looking between the two boys.

"Yes," they smiled out.

Xxx

Neil and Norman left Melody about one in the morning. They sneak into Neil's house and quickly went to sleep. Norman closed his eyes. He felt so tired. His mind felt like a mess. He needed to just not think anymore. That sounded nice.

_"John." A woman called out. She was wearing Melody's locket. "Do you love me?" The woman asked with a sly smile._

_ "Of course I love the woman I am to marry." Norman answered. It didn't feel real. It felt like a lie. It was all forced out. His mind felt hazy._

_ "As you should." The woman with the locket smiled. "But do you love me?"_

_ "I have loved no one the way I do you." Norman replied with a bright smile._

_ "That is good to hear." She smiled with such joy._

Norman felt like his head was spinning. So much was trying to flow in. He than found himself inside the house in the woods under the willow tree.

_Fire,,,washed...gone...witch" The window whispered in his ear. "Unholy... witch... Unholy... witch... unholy... witch... burn... washed... pure..."_

Norman woke up in a sweat. He didn't understand his dream. Was someone telling him to kill Melody?

Xxx

Melody opened her old worn out book. She ran her fingers over the locket and thought about Norman. He was very kind to her. She should thank him for it. But how? She flipped through the pages and wondered what she should do. She felt a chill in the air and looked around the room. Funny. All the windows were closed. She turned her head as she thought the matter over. That was strange she thought to herself. She looked back at her book.

She stood up and walked the book over to the knives. She couldn't understand why her mother, believing Melody was crazy enough to kill herself, would leave her child alone with blades. But now was not the time to question it. Melody looked for the thinnest blade so could fine.

Melody sliced down the page she had been looking at. It turned out that the page was in fact two. That was odd because the flow of information seemed perfectly fine. Melody looked at the two new pages in awe. There was an image drawn on the left page with rushed hand writing.

_"I saw the girl with the locket and than was told to Burn or Drown the witch, that I had to make her pure. I do not understand. I watched her burn and knew it to be wrong, Was there something that I did not get? I fear to tell my lover of these dreams. But mostly I fear the woman in the shadows. I can feel you watching me. I fear of what she plans to do to my beloved. I must act before it is too late."_

Melody felt her body grow weak. The woman in the shadows was a problem to him too. This meant it was part of her curse and not some random ghost attack. The man who wrote the dairy said that he felt that time was running out. Did that mean that Melody was running out of time? Or was there more to it? Melody looked on the right page. She feared what it would say.

_"To my love, by the time you read this our time will be gone. You will have been reborn into a new young girl who must fight off dark spirits. I am sad to say that I could not save you, but I gave my life to save your own. I know can not kill the witch. I could not bring myself to and so I failed you once more. Forgive me and pray I have the strength to free us in the next life. No matter what, Know that I am only yours."_

Melody felt her soul cry. She didn't know this man, but her soul must recall the story that she could not. She wanted to tell me that it was okay. She wanted to make things better for him. She wanted to have been there on the day he took his life. What did he feel when he sealed himself off from the world? What was the last thing he thought about when he put that final brick in? In her past life, did she know what happened? Had she any clue what he did for her?

"It's not fair." She whispered to herself as tears streamed down her face. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. She had done nothing wrong. Why did she have to suffer? Why her?

Xxx

Melody cried herself to sleep in the kitchen. The man in white leather sighed to himself as he lifted her up and carried her to her room. It was hard helping from the shadows. It was hard watching this child suffer. He placed Melody onto her bed and slipped the sheets over her. She looked like she was having a bad dream. His mind had been full of nightmares at one time. He didn't understand Melody, but he understood Norman. It hurt watching the one you cared about going through hell and back.

"Hm, you need a good dream." He chuckled as he placed a small book beside her bed. "I promise that you can have one soon enough."

Xxx


	7. Chapter 7

Note: I've been busy the last few weeks and had to get back in the writing spirit. I hope this chapter came out well. Rewrote it a few times, but am mostly happy with it.

Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 and Himeno Kazehito thank you for reviewing and reading this story. It means a lot to me. This chapter is for you two and for all my silent followers. Reviews will get me to work faster. Hint! Hint!

* * *

Melody woke up the next morning ensure how she got to bed. She sat up and tried to remember the events of last night. She didn't see how she could have ended up in bed. She bit her lip in deep thought as she started to get out of bed. What was that kind of book doing in her room? She was not the kind of girl to read fairy tales. Her life was such a nightmare that she never could believe in fairies, princesses, or anything like that.

Melody opened the book slowly to the middle and saw that there was passages highlighted. This book belonged to a child. She flipped to the first page and saw that the book had a word written in it, 'Song.' "Why that word?" Melody asked herself.

Xxx

Norman waited for Melody outside the school. He was worried about what is dream meant and what would happen to the girl he was slowly falling for. He sighed softly as he wondered what he should do. Should he tell her? Would she freak out and leave? Would she burn herself alive so he wouldn't have to? Would she try to kill him? The questions kept forming and hurting his head. He didn't know what to do.

"Hey, kid." A woman said as she sat down next to Norman. "You seemed stressed." Norman stared at the woman in wonder. She was the red head he had seen a few days before. She was smiling at him like a mother would smile to a child. It was a smile filled with love and wisdom.

"I'm sorry, but why are you talking to me? When I past you by, you seemed angry that I was looking at you." Norman recalled the weird way she looked at him.

"It isn't every day that I see someone with your abilities and power." She seemed beyond pleased.

"How could you tell that I could see ghosts just by looking at me?" Norman asked. "Do you have abilities too?"

"Ha, is that all you think you can see? Ghosts?" The woman chuckled. "You must think that my _friend_ and I are human too." The woman shook her head amused by the idea. "Well, the man with me had been human once. I have never been human."

"Than what are? Because I know you're not a ghost." Norman asked.

"Think of me as kind of an angel." The woman stated. "Don't ask about God and heaven. I have no idea about that stuff. I'm not an angel, just kinda like an angel."

"What's kinda like an angel?" Norman questioned.

"I watch over others. Help keep evil things from harming the human world. I've wings and can't be seen by most humans. There are tricks, but you could see me without using them. Powerful gift, your sight." The woman stated with slight frown. "It's not everyday a human can see my kind... unless we want them too."

"So, I shocked you and your friend?" Norman whispered to himself.

"Just me." She stated with a small smile. "He is not like me. It's a different set of rules to see him. Different kind of magic that hides him. It's complex."

"Can Melody see you?" Norman asked.

"Not sure if she is like you." The woman replied. "But if I wanted her or anyone else to see me...I could swing it."

"Hmmm..." Norman thought about the creature that attacked Melody. "Melody was attacked by something that even my friend Neil could see. Was that thing like you? Or something like your friend? Did it want to be seen?"

"No, it didn't care if it was seen." The woman answered. "That thing that attacked your friend was a ghost, a dark spirit."

"Do you know-"

"No, I don't know anymore than you do on the matter. I know that your friend was cursed in a past life and that dark spirit is trying to complete the curse. It will follow her in the next life and the next unless it's stopped. Death will just restart the curse."

"I had this dream..." Norman started. "One of many...strange dreams...I was..." Norman didn't know how to talk about his dream.

"Stop." The woman announced with deep worry. "This isn't the place. I'll find you later to talk about the girl. I just wanted to tell you that you have help... but don't tell Melody about me...That spirit stays close to her too much. I don't want it to know about me."

"How can I keep it from her?" Norman asked as he looked a way from the pink haired woman.

"Keep what from who?" Melody asked as she eyed the teen in front of her.

"I was-" Norman turned to find that the woman was gone. "I was thinking about my mom. How am I going to keep all this from her?"

"Tell her I'm your hot scary girlfriend and you just want your space to deal with the new emotions you feel...or whatever... My mom is never around. I think she's looking at homes in another town while finding workers for our home." Melody sighed as she thought about her mother. "She's been acting weird lately. Normally, she's all about watching me every moment of the day."

"Maybe she trusts you." Norman stated as he stood up.

"Maybe she wants me to kill myself." Melody shrugged her shoulders as she said that. "It would help solve all her problems."

"That's just sick." Norman chuckled as he gently pushed Melody. She smiled softly.

"If I die, I'll be sure to visit you." Melody laughed. "Let's have a code word so that I don't walk in on something I shouldn't."

"What?" Norman was taken back by what she was saying. "I don't think that you should-"

"I'm joking." Melody whispered softly. "I wouldn't come back... I think that thing would hurt me more if I was...if I stayed..."

"I'm sorry." Norman said softly. "I don't want you to ever be scared."

"I feel safe around you." Melody closed her eyes as she thought about "But I also feel more scared after I leave you." Melody stated in a stronger voice. She snapped her head up and shook it side to side. "It's like I feel this force and it's all black and dark...wanting me gone more and more."

"..." Norman was at a loss for words. What could he say to that? What if she could sense that something in him wanted to kill her?

"On your walk here," Melody went on. "Did you notice something strange?"

"No, I don't think so." Norman answered. He hadn't noticed anything odd. His walk to school had been peaceful. He had been given a lot of time to think. Which was good, because he had been worried that he would have been stopped by a number of ghosts on his way to school. Maybe, the ghosts understood that he needed his space for once. He was thankful for it. It was nice.

"Hm, maybe it's just me." Melody thought aloud to herself. Norman wondered what he had missed. "Let's get to class before we're late." The teen smiled brightly. "I wanna see our classmates be uncomfortable."

"Wait!" Norman yelled out as Melody dashed away. "I had something to tell you." He weakly whispered to himself with a heavy sigh.

"I wonder what she meant by 'strange'" The woman stated aloud as she appeared next to Norman.

"Where did you go?" Norman questioned in awe. "And come from?"

"I've been here." She stated. "Just using a trick to hide from you and possibly her." The pink haired woman said as she walked around him.

"Look, you. I-" Norman started but was cut off.

"I've a name." The woman snapped. "You should use it."

"You never gave me a name." Norman pointed out.

"Tessa." The woman chuckled softly. "My name is Tessa. Little details slip my mind sometimes."

"I wouldn't call your name 'a little detail'" Norman countered.

"I don't always give my name when I'm helping others." Tessa remarked as she looked about. "It's not always important. But Melody...the things she said... That's important. Need to talk to a witch I know. I'll find you later."

"Wait." Norman shouted softly. "Don't leave me in the dark. I...ugh!" Tessa had used her powers to disappear from his sight. He rubbed the back of his neck and fought the urge to scream. He had class to go to and couldn't risk getting into trouble.

Xxx

"Norman!" Neil yelled during lunch. "Are you going to eat that?"

"No, you can have it." Norman said as he pushed his tray towards his friend. Melody slammed her bag onto the table and pulled out her old book. She looked at Neil and took the bottle of unopened soda that his next to him. Norman wondered why she was sitting next to Neil and not him.

"Hey, that's mine." Neil whined.

"Unless you've attacked by an evil spirit while trying to take a bath, you don't have the right to whine." Melody snapped. "I could be attacked at any moment. So, I'm taking this soda to feel better."

"Can I at least get my money back?" Neil sighed as he watched Melody open the soda.

"Can you let me have this as, again, I could be attacked by an evil spirit at any moment?" Melody shot back.

"I'll give you the money." Norman cut in. "It's no big deal." Norman felt tired. He just wanted to go to sleep. Neil and Melody started their fight again. Melody wasn't willing to let Norman pay for her drink. She thought that she shouldn't have to pay for the soda.

_"John?" A female voice called to Norman. "__John? I'm trying to talk with you." Norman turned his head to see a woman standing behind him. She was dressed in strange clothes. Norman stared at her as she waited for him to say something. He felt awkward about the way she was looking at him._

_ "I'm sorry." Norman whispered with a heavy sigh. "I haven't been sleeping well. Things haven't been feeling right."_

_ "Of course." The woman smiled. "You are feeling odd about the wedding coming up. It is understandable." The woman laughed. "Have some tea. It will help you feel better."_

_ "My dreams..." Norman tried to think about his nightmares. "They are driving me mad."_

_ "Hush now." The woman pushed a cup of tea in front of Norman. "Drink your tea and let me help. Just listen to me and everything will be better." The woman placed a hand over chest. She watched Norman drink his tea. She smiled with joy at the sight._

_ "I have a trip coming up." Norman said as he finished his cup of tea. "I need to go for work."_

_ "I'll make you some of my famous tea for the trip." The woman smiled._

_ "I think I can go without your tea for a few weeks." Norman joked._

_ "It helps with your bad dreams." The woman stated. "I just want you to sleep well. Promise to drink my tea while on your trip every night before bed." She seemed almost to the point of tears._

_ "I promise." Norman tried to smile out._

"Promise what?" Melody asked. Norman snapped his head up. He had fallen asleep.

"What?" Norman didn't understand. Had that all been a dream?

"You said you promise." Neil said in a worried tone.

"I did..." Norman didn't know what happened. "I guess I was dreaming."

"About what?" Melody asked.

"About some guy...named John and his... girlfriend." The ghost seeing boy felt confused.

"The Willow Witch." Melody huffed out. "The story goes that a man named John left his bride to be for a trip and came make spelled by the witch. You were dreaming about why I was cursed." Melody felt a sob forming.

"Melody... there are a lot of John's." Neil pointed out. "It could be just that all this talk is making him dream about it. Nothing more."

"Neil's right." Norman agreed.

"I guess." Melody said as she stood up. "But I need a second. Hm...please...just...ugh...I'll be back." Melody took her bag and swiftly walked away.

Xxx

Melody brushed tears from her face. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She shouldn't have acted that way. It wasn't like her. She closed her eyes and felt as though a thousand voices were whispering to her. They were all trying to say something at once. She screamed out as the voices grew louder. The mirror cracked as the voices stopped and Melody stared at the cracks. She slowly lowered her hand to look at her right wrist. Blood was dripping down it and staining the tile floor.

_"Slice." _A voice whispered in the dark. Melody's other wrist was sliced opened. "_Slice_" Melody felt like something was cutting into her check. "_Slice." _It felt like something was about to cut into her throat, but stopped. _"You look so pretty stained in red."_ The voice whispered softly. "_I want to dress you up in red once more."_

"I'd rather dress myself in red than let you do it." Melody whispered back with disgust. "I'd hate to see you happy." Melody felt something slap her face and she turned from the hard blow. The ghost seeing female didn't know who the spirit had been, but she could sense the darkness in that spirit. Melody stood up straight to find the mirror crack free and no cuts on her wrist. Had everything been in her head?

"Hey," A girl said as she walked into the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Melody said as she tried to smile. "Uh..." She couldn't recall the girl's name.

"Salma." The girl finished.

"Sorry." Melody gulped as she tried to regain herself. "I'm bad with names And people skills." Melody laughed dryly. "They don't teach you that in the nut house."

"Wow." Salma grimaced. "Just went straight to that."

"Yea, I'm sorry." Melody sighed out with a small smile. "I've no idea what I'm doing. I mean...I know how to use a bathroom and what I was doing here. I just don't know how to talk to you. Not that I find you weird or anything. It's just..." Melody bit her bottom lip.

"It's alright." Salma said putting a hand up to stop the other girl from talking. "You have no people skills."

"I find that people don't take kindly to me and I guess it made it harder to want to learn those skills." Melody confessed.

"But you're okay?" Salma asked.

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Melody questioned as she rubbed her nose. "Is it cuz I was crying? Because that's normal for me. Being near people is hard and I feel stressed trying to be normal."

"I ask because of the blood on the floor." Salma pointed to the tiles under the mirror.

"There's blood." Melody stared at the floor. "I never noticed that there before. Where did that come from? Oh!" Melody understood what Salma was implying. "You think it's my blood. Oh! No! I didn't. I would nev...Well, I have. In the past.. Kinda, but I would never do that now. That's so not mine. I swear. I've no cuts on my body. I can show you!" Melody rushed out as she started to undo her shirt.

"NO!" Salma yelled out. "No need to do that."

"Oh, that's not something I should do." Melody realized as she stared at Salma. "Sorry."

"It's understandable."

"Really?" Melody asked with slight joy.

"No," The girl with glasses said. "Not at all."

"I didn't think so." The ghost seeing girl frowned. "I think I should just go. Enjoy your lunch."

"You need to fix your shirt." Salma stated as Melody walked around her.

"Right." Melody chuckled to herself. "That would be good."

xxx

"Hello Melody." Hope smiled as Melody walked into their home. Hope was working on some flowers. It seemed that someone had taken a liking to the woman on her trip.

"Mom. Can I be home schooled?" Melody sighed out. "I hate being around people." She was worried about having a break down while away from home. It was one thing for her mother to see her crazy. It was another thing to have a whole school see her freak out.

"Don't be silly." Hope smiled. "You need to be around people to know what's normal." Norman. Melody didn't know what that meant. Hope didn't seem like a good example of what was normal.

"Has Dr. Clark called?" Melody asked as she threw her bag on the floor. "When will he fix the stairs?"

"I have no idea when we should fix the stairs." Hope answered. "They seem fine for now. I think I'll save it for later. I really want to fix the hallway and the backrooms first. That way we have somewhere to stay while the stairs are being worked on."

"And the upstairs rooms too." Melody added. "There needs work to be work on some of the rooms. The floors need to be replaced in your room and the bathroom needs a new tube if we are going to sale this place anytime soon."

"I was thinking... we may stay here." Hope said as she finished playing with her flowers.

"Oh," Melody glanced at her mother. "I guess here is as good as any."

"It's just that your father wanted to move here when you were little." Hope smirked at the memory. "He was looking at this nice home. I would sale this one. But only after the one your father wanted goes on sale and I get it."

"What house did he want?" Melody asked.

"It's a place in the woods. A mansion of sorts. I've only seen it once and that had been when you were a baby." Hope paused. "I spoke to Dr. Clark about it before I left and she said that it would be nice to give you something to have you close to Ben."

"Dr. Clark called and you didn't tell me." Melody was shocked. "I could have used the chance to talk about what is going on in my life."

"I called her." Hope sighed out. She felt as though her child didn't want to get better. "I just was checking that it was an okay idea. She sounded as though she was stressed. I asked her about it and she said the most odd thing. She said that she was trying to understand her world once more."

"Maybe she was talking about the death of her sister." Melody stated as she took a seat on the stairs.

"The walls need a paint job. I think cool colors." Hope said as she looked at the paint. "What do you mean her sister is gone? Are you making this up? Did you see something?"

"You sister past a way before you took me home." Melody sighed out. "Dr. Clark just got the news only a couple months before I left."

"How did she die?" Hope asked with bright eyes.

"Murdered by her boyfriend. I think it just happened when he was high."

"Oh, that death is much better then being old and what not." Hope smiled. Melody rolled her eyes. Normal? Yea, like she had a chance at being normal.

"I've been talking to a boy." Melody went on. "I think he likes me."

"That's good." Hope smiled. "But more importantly, I think I found someone to marry me."

"He's fine with me being crazy?" Melody asked as she eyed her mother.

"Yes," Hope spoke in a dark tone. "You have made my life very hard with your problems. Now that you are getting better, we can focus on what I need." Melody felt she was dealing with a child.

"I've got homework." She breathed out. "I vote pasta for dinner."

"I second that vote." Her mother stated as she left the hallway.

Xxx

Melody walked into her room to fill it oddly darker than normal. She wondered if the sun was finally blocked for once. It had seemed sunny when she had entered the house, but weather could change rather fast. She tried to flip the light switch, but the lights wouldn't turn on. She groaned as she walked down the hallway to turn on the lights. The upstairs hall lights were working which meant her room's light should work too. Melody turned off the lights and went to the closest. She was going to change the light in her room. If that didn't work, she would need to check the wiring. She really hoped it wasn't a wiring issue. That would be a pain.

She placed a chair in the center of her room and stood on it. She nearly fell over. She wondered for a moment if she should have removed her heels first. That would have been smart, but she was already on the chair. There was no sense on taking them off now. Melody placed a hand on the ceiling as she started to change the light. The chair rocked back and further a little as the shadow moved under the chair. A slow darkness started to crawl up the chair legs. Melody let out a scream of horror and dropped the object in her hand. It scattered on the floor.

* * *

End Note: So I brought Hope back into the mix. I felt she needed to come back in sooner or later and it was finally time to bring her home. Let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter 8

Note: I took forever and it's a short chapter, but I am having issues thinking about what to put her through that will sound scary. Any ideas. Please send them. For now, I'll give you what I could. R&R and I'll update sooner.

* * *

Melody let out a loud scream. The being in front of her chuckled a bit as he stepped forward.

"Sorry." Norman smiled softly. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Holy shit." Melody sighed out. "I didn't even hear you coming."

"Yea..." Norman seemed to be staring at the floor. He seemed to be focused on something. He looked highly upset.

"Norman?" Melody felt that something was off. "What's wrong?"

"She won't leave you be." He stated as he stared at the floor below her chair. "She just doesn't get it."

'What are you talking about?" Melody asked as she stepped off the chair. Norman shot his eyes up at her. The goth girl let out a gasp as she saw he didn't have any eyes. Before she could say anything, something pulled her down. The shadow creature covered her mouth and the man that looked like Norman reached out for Melody. He used all his might to pull her free.

"I won't let you hurt my brother again!" The man screamed out in his rage. Meanwhile, Melody was in massive pain. It felt like glass was stabbing into her over and over again. The shadow finally let her go when foot steps could be heard. Melody screamed over and over as loud as she could. The man rushed to hide behind the door and slowly faded into the wall paper.

xxx

"Melody!" The real Norman shouted as he raced to the girl screaming.

"You had no eyes." Melody cried out. "And the shadows tried to take me. Why didn't you have eyes?"

"Not again." Hope sighed out. "I'll have to take her back." Norman felt a deep hatred towards this woman. How could she sound as if she didn't care about her own child? The way she had sound those words was as if she was felt that it was more a bother than something to help her own child.

"I'll take care of her." Norman said as he held Melody. "She doesn't need to go back."

"Whatever." Hope huffed out. "Just have her out of the house when my date comes. I don't want him to see her like this."

Norman bit back his rage as he looked down at Melody. She couldn't go back to that place. It would kill her. She needed to be around someone that understood her, that believed in her. He couldn't risk upsetting Hope. He sighed as let the matter slide.

Xxx

Neil listened closely as the man told him about the necklace. It seemed that it could have belonged to some family that had lived in the area and that they had an old manor a few miles from town. Neil was taken back by this. He had never heard of there being such a building near by.

"Why haven't I heard anything about this manor?" Neil asked as he eyed his brother's boyfriend.

"Oh, that's because of the death that happened near there." The man stated.

"Death?" Nail felt even more lost.

"A writer died in the area and it made the town look bad. For tourists, it was agreed not to let the manor be talked about again. It's by the old church that no one cares about. Now, that's a story." Neil understood that the man wanted to tell him a very long and possibly boring story.

"I really should get going." Neil rushed out. "I've homework to do."

"But you didn't seem so busy before." The man stated in confusion.

"I was asking for a friend. Her father gave it to her and she wanted to know some stuff about it for a project we are all doing."

"On a necklace?"

"On...on what families past down to their young..." Neil felt stupid. There was no way someone would buy that.

"Okay... than I'll see you around..."

"Yea... I'll see yea." Neil waved awkwardly.

"That was weird." The jewelery said to himself after Neil left.

Xxx

The two ghost seeing teens walked down the road together. Melody seemed to be ensure what to do with herself. She half feared that this Norman wasn't Norman either. She breathed deeply as she tried to forget the sight of that fake Norman. His eyes... they had seemed to be ripped out. She shivered at the thought of someone ripping not his eyes with just their bare hands.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Norman asked as he tried to think of something to talk about. He couldn't think of a thing.

"No." She answered drily.

"Hm, I've been having bad dreams..." Norman stated as he sighed. He touched his chest. He felt a dull pain as he frowned. The girl made a sound to acknowledge that she was listening. "I've been watching you burn."

"Oh...maybe you should set me on fire..." Melody whispered as she stopped walking. Norman turned to look at her and bit back his rage.

"Don't talk like that."

"But what if it's all a sign that this-" Melody cried out with fear dripping from her voice.

"Shut Up!" Norman screamed. "I don't want to hear this."

"What if it's true though." Melody rushed out. "They burned witches for a reason."

"That reason was because they were crazy." Norman point out.

"You don't get it." She sobbed out. "I'm dying... and I'm breaking...trying to stay strong...everywhere I turn...for peace..it...it comes back...as horror. Are you even real? Are you even here? You could be talking to me...and than eyeless the next moment."

"What are you talking about?" Norman felt so confused. She hadn't been this upset before. Had she been hiding her feelings?

"Nothing." Melody stated as she held her head. "It's nothing." She sounded so hollow. The boy felt scared that she would harm herself again.

"I don't think I'd have the heart to see you gone." Norman whispered honestly.

"I don't think I've the heart to take much more." Melody sighed out. Norman took her in his arms and let her cry. He had no idea what she had gone through in the past, but he could understand why she wanted to give up. He hugged her close to him as he promised himself that he wouldn't let her give up. He would die before letting that happen.

xxx

"Now," Dr. Clark said as she sat down at the table. "You were a doctor of Melody Pine's."

"Yes, and she can." The man stated as he drank his tea.

"I haven't ask about her abilities." Dr. Clark said as she bit her lip.

"You would have though." He smiled at her. "I have proof."

"Proof?" Dr. Clark didn't understand.

"I recorded her during an attack. Hid the camera." He explained. "I lost my mind for a little bit, but now I understand. Ghost don't normally attack the living. Not at the rank they attack her." He rushed out. "But there are cursed souls. They don't live long. I think she's one of them."

"But you haven't warned her about this."

"No, because she would seek a cure." The man went on. "The curse is placed on the soul and the closer to finding a cure...the closer to death the person gets."

"I don't understand." Dr. Clark said as she thought it over. "Why would it be worse for her?"

"I have no idea. I'm new to all this ghost stuff and this is old magic. Not many knew about it."

"How do we help her Mat? How do we save her?" Dr. Clark asked.

"What the hell are you talking about? Save?" The man had no idea what she was going on about. "I'm not going to do that. You know how hard it will be. We need to find out which past life she was cursed in and how the spell was placed. The where and how long ago matter too."

"You make it seem like she can't be helped."

"Not in time. Not this late in the game when we know nothing."

"That's sick." Dr. Clark yelled. "How can you tell me that story and say there's no help we can give. You're a...a jerk." She stated as she eyed the children around them.

"And your point?" Mat asked as he smirked at her.

'We are going to help her!" Dr. Clark hissed out.

"How?" He asked as she gave him a dirty look.

"I'll find a way." She stated.


	9. Chapter 9

Note: I'm alive. Alive! And I have the next chapter. I don't image that I have that many more chapters left in this story. I hope that the ending will please you. I brought some action into this chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Please, please review. It would mean the world to me. Thanks for reading.

* * *

Norman tossed and turned in his bed. He has having a nightmare. The poor boy kept trying to run away from a shadowy being. He didn't understand what the thing wanted. He only known that it wasn't good. Running seemed to do little good. The thing always seemed to be right behind him. He couldn't understand why it was after him. What had he done wrong? Why wouldn't it leave him alone? Norman ran and ran. He could see the form of Melody becoming clearly. He ran towards the girl he was slowly falling in love with and just as he was about to touch her the shadowy being stabbed Melody. She seemed confused for a moment before turning hate filled eyes towards Norman.

"You did this to me." Melody whispered as the dark being started pulling her a way. "You did this to me." She repeated as the being created a hole in the ground. It was a gate way to hell and the being was pulling poor Melody into it. The shadowy being wouldn't let the flames touch it. Instead it throw Melody inside the hole. Norman could hear the poor girl screams as she was being burned alive. It burned into his mind as he longed to wake up. The shadowy being touched his left shoulder and tried to tell him that things were for the best, but that was a lie.

Norman woke up feeling sick. In fact, he needed to throw up. He raced towards the bathroom and empty his stomach. He ran his fingers through his hair as he flushed the toilet. It was than that he notice the bruise on his shoulder. He slowly rose to look into the mirror and felt horrified by the sight. The spot where the shadowy being had touched him in his dream had formed a bruise in the real world. It looked bad too. He wondered what it meant. Norman thought to ask his grandma, but it hit him that he hadn't seen her in days. He couldn't recall the last time he saw her and it wasn't like her to be away from the house. Something was really wrong here.

Xxx

Melody dressed herself in tight black jeans and a tight black tube shirt with a skull. She put on her leather jacket and matching boots, She ran down the stairs and paused by the new mirror in her home. She hadn't noticed it there before. She eyed her reflection and turned around a few times to make sure she looked nice. She wanted to look good. She hoped that maybe if she didn't look a hot mess...maybe it would make Norman feel a little better.

Melody smiled at herself before leaving. She didn't notice that her reflection glared at her as she left. In fact, she didn't even know that her reflection stayed when she left the room. The reflection looked left and right before stepping out of the mirror. It seemed unhappy about being there, but understood that it had a job to do. It walked towards the kitchen and grabbed a large knife. The eyeless Norman stood behind the reflection being.

"Don't do this." It said as the reflection being turned to face it.

"But I have to." It said as it eyed the boy. "For your brother...I must do this."

"Heather!" The eyeless Norman hissed out. "How many times must we go through this?"

"AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES HER TO LEARN!" The being screamed coldly.

"How many times before you learn?" The eyeless Norman questioned before fading away.

"I don't need to learn. It's she who needs to take note of how things work." The being stated as she starred hard at the blade in her hand.

Xxx

Melody took her seat. She started to draw an image. It seemed to make her feel better. It made her feel safer. She didn't know where the image had come from or why it help her. It just felt like something she had always knew. She smiled as drew and redrew the image. She wanted to paint it in her room. She felt as though she needed to have this image close to her. She looked up at the teacher as class started for the day. Norman starred at her for a moment before smiling. It was nice to see her happy for once. Who was he to question it?

Xxx

The reflection being walked up the stairs of Melody's house. She made her way towards Hope's room. The blade was locked tight in her hand. She had one thought in her mind. She wanted to make the bitch bleed, but since she couldn't have Melody the reflection being was fine with butchering the mother. She smirked at the thought of all the blood. She opened the door and stood in front of the bed. She raised the blade high in the air and rammed the knife down. Hope moved out of the way just in time to miss the blade. She screamed in horror.

"Melody! What?" Hope yelled as she jumped at of bed.

"Shut up and stay still." The woman hissed as she tried to stab Hope once more.

Xxx

Melody rolled her eyes as she read Norman's note. He was asking her if she had any bad dreams last night. The truth was that she hadn't. She had felt as though someone had been watching out for her. She had dreamed of two boys that looked a little like Norman. They had been two brothers who stopped at her small cabin under a willow tree. She greeted the two men with a smile and gave them a few apples before trying to send them on their way. The older of the two didn't want to leave. He wanted to ask her all sorts of things. It seemed that he had seen her heal a child in town and had become taken with her. Melody had sent the men away and warned them not to return. The older one had taken her hand and kissed it. Melody blushed and woke up soon after.

She didn't understand why her heart jumped a bit as his lips touched her hand nor did she understand why her cheeks burned as she recalled the action. It made her smile. It had felt so nice and she longed to know what it would have felt like if he had kissed her on the lips instead of the hand. She tried to think of what the men had called each other, but she couldn't. Everything felt so clear and it was as if she were calling further a memory, but the names wouldn't come to her. She didn't get it.

Melody bit her lip as she wrote back to Norman. 'I had a good dream for once.' She passed the note along and watched as Norman sighed. He didn't seem too happy. It hurt her to see that he was upset. Norman felt as though his mind was slipping from him. Why did he have a nightmare when she had a good dream? They had both been having nightmares and now she was getting better. It didn't make sense.

Xxx

Hope tried to stop the bleeding, but there so much blood. She lay at the foot of the stairs as she watched what looked like her daughter. The girl seemed out of mind with rage. Hope felt like she was slipping into the darkness when she heard a voice call out to her. It was that Dr. Clark woman. What was she doing here? There was someone else with her.

"Melody." Hope said as she point towards her child. "Stop her."

"No one is there." The man whispered. Hope didn't understand. She could see her child. Why didn't they see her too? What was going on?

Xxx

"Melody." A teacher tapped her back at the lunch room. She had just sat down and was about to talk to Neil. He seemed like he wanted to say something.

"Yes?"

"It's you mother. It seems she was attacked."

"What?" Melody felt her heart drop. She stood up and raced all the way home. She pushed past some officer. She had never seen that much blood before. Her head started to spin. She couldn't keep herself up. For a moment she thought she saw herself standing on the stairs covered in blood. She blinked and saw the eyeless Norman.

"Song...rest...witch...stands...before me." The spirit said just as she was about to blackout. A tear fell from her eye as she fainted. She could see herself standing before a large coward. She could see them hungry for her death. A woman cheering them on. A young man, the younger brother from her dream, trying to free her. She watched in horror as they took him a way. She didn't want to think of what they would do to. She heard him trying to call to her and than the fire was set. She was burning. She wanted to die as the fire slowly took hold of her body. Why? What had she done? They called her witch, whore and other things she didn't want to repeat. What had she done? What had she done?

"AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa" Melody screamed as she woke up. She was tied to a bed. She was crying and screaming. She didn't understand. "AAAaaaaaaaaaaaa. AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa." Nurses rushed to aid her. "AAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

xxx

Norman stood in the hallway. He could hear her screaming. It shook his very core. He didn't know what to do. She had seemed fine at school and now he was being told that she had attacked her mother. It didn't seem possible, The time line didn't sound right. She had been in classes during the attack. Melody stopped screaming as Norman walked down the hall towards her. Tessa reached a hand out to stop him. She seemed sick and slightly cold. She rubbed her arms.

"I'm not here." She stated. "I'm using my powers to send you a message. She locked me in chains and spelled me down. I can't stop her. My heart isn't the one that can do it. Below her home, there are rooms. You most go there and... No! No! Agh." Tessa seemed to be in pain. The lights flickered on and off. "I can't...go there...find me..." Tessa said before fading away. "Hurry."

Norman hurried to Melody. She was sobbing to herself. She whispered the name Harry. Norman didn't understand. Who was Harry? Why was she crying over Harry?

'Melody?" Norman questioned. She looked at him as though she was seeing through him.

"Harry was looking after me. He was the man that came to my room last night. He is watching out for me. They hurt him because of him...but still he watches over me. What a good brother he was..." Melody whispered to herself as she shut her eyes. Norman didn't understand her one bit.

"We have to go to your house."

"No." Melody breathed in. "I'm staying here. I below here."

"No you don't." Norman tried to argue.

"Norman," Dr. Clark sighed out as she stepped out of the shadows. "You need to go. She needs to rest."

"How do you know my name?" Norman asked the strange lady.

"Her mother told me about you." Dr. Clark said as her heels clicked on the floor. "I was going to check her home for a reason behind the attack. She never seemed the type to harm anyone but herself."

"You don't know what your talking about." Norman gritted his teeth.

"I was one of her doctors. I know her better than you." Dr. Clark stated coldly. "She doesn't need you to hold her back."

"That's not what I'm doing." Norman hissed out.

"What's this Willow Witch stuff she was talking about before she started screaming?" Mat shouted as he opened the door to enter the room. He was holding a bags of chips and two sodas.

"What did you bring me?" Dr. Clark asked as she eyed Mat.

"Did you want something?" Mat seemed shocked by this. He had only brought enough for himself.

"You really are a jerk." She shook her head.

"Hey! I got the cursed girl a drink. Grape cola her favorite." Mat dropped his stuff on the bed and handed Melody her drink. Melody looked at the bottle than at Mat. "What?"

"She's tied to the bed!" Dr. Clark yelled out. "How are you a doctor?"

"I'm sooo sorry." Melody sobbed out. "I ruined you." She wanted to curl into a ball but couldn't.

"It's okay. I was fucked up before I met you." Mat hoped that would make her feel better.

"Uh," Dr. Clark leaned against the window. "What were you saying about a willow witch?"

"Me...me...me...I burned...they burned me..." Melody shivered at the memory.

"Hu, it's okay Melody. That happened long ago. Your safe now." Norman cooed.

"Melody, where did your get that new mirror in your house?" Mat asked.

"Is that where you went?" Dr. Clark felt puzzled.

"No, I was looking at the photos." Mat said. "The mirror had this mark that I saw in one of my books. It's from an old spell book of sorts. I don't know what it does, but it's something to do with giving spirit a form to take or something like that. I honestly couldn't understand most of it."

"Hahah, he believes in magic." Dr. Clark laughed out. She touched Norman's arm and smiled. "How crazy is he? Next, he'll say he believes people can see and talk to ghosts." Mat rolled his eyes. "You should leave us. I'll take care of Melody."

"You are a horrible person." Mat sighed out as he watched Norman being pushed out of the room. The door shut behind Norman, but he could still hear them. "You know that we could have used the help."

"No, we don't need a child to help us save a child." Dr. Clark sounded like a bitch. Norman thought to himself. The other guy seemed to be a little better. He had said something that remind Norman he had to go to Melody's house.

Xxx

Norman walked into Melody's home and turned on the lights. It was dark outside. Night was falling. He wondered if he should call his parents when he saw movement. No one should have been here. The police had the area roped off and the two people that lived here where in the hospital. Norman pocketed his phone as he glanced around the hall. He could have sworn that he saw Melody.

"Don't." A male shouted.

"Ha ha ha ha." A female laughed out. "Norman, come upstairs." It sounded like Melody.

"Don't." A male voice shout. The male voice sounded familiar. Norman tried to recall where he last heard it. There seem to be a deep growl coming from the upper floor. It sounded like a wild beast. He was too scared to move. He took in some air and moved forward slightly. A woman that looked like Melody rushed down towards him. She seemed in a deep rage. There was a man behind her, He was covered in blood . He was coughing up blood.

"Fine! I can do it down here!" The Melody look alike screamed as she jumped onto of Norman. She was trying to stab him. Norman pushed her a way, but not before being cut. The bloody man whimpered the word mirror as Norman tried to keep a way from the blade. Without meaning to, Norman pushed Melody into the mirror causing it to crack a seem places. Melody seemed to crack a bit too. It was as if her image was linked to the mirror. _'It's something to do with giving spirit a form to take.'_

It had been clear to Norman that he hadn't been fighting the real Melody the moment she attacked him. Her cracking along with the mirror was the proof he needed to fight back. He took a near by lamp and tossed it at the woman standing in front of the mirror. She ducked down and the mirror smashed to pieces. The woman screamed in pain as she cracked to pieces. In place of Melody, the shadowy being from his dreams stood before Norman. She yelled out like a beast before rushing out the door.

"What the fuck was that?" Norman breathed out as he watched the shadowy being leave.

"John?" The bleeding man on the stairs coughed out. He looked up and Norman was horrified to see that the man had no eyes and looked like him.

"Uh?" Norman wondered who the spirit was calling out to. "Do...do you want me to get someone?"

"John? Remember?" The man breathed out.

"What happened to you?" Norman asked as he moved to be by the spirits side. "Melody said...she told me you just had no eyes...she never said any...thing about this..."

"She...made me...relive my last moments...to hurt...me... didn't like...me getting...in the way."

"The way? What are you talking about?" Norman felt confused.

"Trust that witch to curse all that she owned. She did hate to see others with her things." The spirit chuckled out.

"Melody doesn't seem-" Norman was cut off.

"Willow never was the type. A kind woman who never should have...ugh...been named a witch. Brother...our actions...brought her death. She foretold that fate...but we...fools acted with our hearts instead of minds. I...knew better than to agree while you knew...that you should have...stayed true..."

"I was told to come to the witch's house and find some room. Do you know where those rooms are? I don't know how to find them here?" Norman asked as the spirit started to fade a way.

"Yes, this may be a witch's home, but not the witch you think of. You must let the past come to you...no matter how painful. The path to save her...to save us lays with you. The mirror...it holds a clue..."

"Why can't you just tell me what to do?" Norman cried out. "I don't know what to do."

"Last I tried, I took you down the wrong path." The spirit breathed out. "I can not do that now...this matter must be dealt with your powers...not mine. Please brother, right this wrong." The spirit faded from the boys sight.

* * *

End Notes: A lot happened. What do you think? Should I let Hope Pine die? I hadn't planned to kill her off, but not sure if she's worth keeping. let me know what you think.


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